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E-books: VLeBooks

About VLeBooks

VLeBooks is one of the main e-book platforms.  The titles on VLeBooks have been selected by Academic Liaison Librarians to support subjects taught at the College.

  • All our e-books from VLeBooks are included in the Library Catalogue and DISCOVER
  • All titles are available as full-text documents via the Read Online option
  • You may read them online on and off campus. 
  • Log in using your College IT username and password.
  • Some of the titles can be downloaded for use on your PC, Mac or Device (this is a temporary file which deletes after 24 hours)
  • Some titles will restrict the number of people who can access at any one time. These simultaneous user limits are set by the publisher. If you get a message stating the book is already in use, just try again in 15 minutes. 

Help using VLeBooks

There are two reading options - Read Online or Download.
It is recommended that books are read on the VLeBooks platform using the ‘Read Online’ option, as this has many features available, which enhance and support the reading experience.

By choosing ‘Read Online’ you can access features such as:

  • Table of contents with direct chapter access (and sub-chapters where available)
  •  Full text searching
  • Dictionary
  • Annotations; bookmarks, highlights and notes (sharing)
  • Thumbnail view
  • Page layout options (single, double page)
  • Page rotation (Landscape, portrait)
  • Selection of 7 background colours
  • Read Aloud software

There is also a full user guide within the reader itself or accessible at the following
web address https://www.vlebooks.com/vlereaderhelp.pdf

Reading e-books on your IOS devices 

Many iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, Macbook)  automatically block pop-ups, so you will need to disable this to allow VLebooks to open up in a new window.

You can do this in Safari by:

  • Clicking on Settings
  • Then, from the options, click on Safari
  • In the General section, swipe on Block Pop-ups to turn off pop-up blocking.

To enable pop-ups on the Google Chrome browser 

  • Open the Google Chrome internet browser
  • Click the 3 dots button in the top right corner of the browser window
  • Select 'Settings'
  • Select 'Privacy and Security'
  • Select 'Site Settings'
  • Scroll to 'Pop-ups and redirects' listed under 'Content' 
  • Toggle 'Blocked' to off

 

Once you have done this, the Read Online function should work normally.

You can also download the e-books on the VLeBooks platform by choosing ‘Download’ and read on your preferred device.
You can use the help topics on Downloading, Android or iOS that are available from the ‘Help’ option on the VLeBooks platform. 
Full instructions are also provided on the e-book’s download page.
To download the e-books, you will need a device which is compatible with VleBooks App
This can be downloaded for free here:
https://https://www.vlebooks.com/install.
The VLeBooks App
The VLeBooks App is available free of charge and once installed on your mobile device allows a downloaded e-book to be read with all the advanced functionality you would  get if reading on the VLeBooks website
To install:
  1. Open the App Store on your device and search for VLeBooks. Press VLeBooks and then press Install.
  2. Click the VLeBooks icon on your device to open the App
  3. You will be prompted for a username and password.  You must set this up from the VLeBooks website
  4. Log in using your College email and password and MFA.
  5. Choose the e-book you want to download
  6. Choose to read it in the VLeBooks app
  7. You will then be asked to set up an account if you haven't already
  8. Fill in the form using your College email address
  9. You will then be asked to confirm you're email address
You can find a guide here 

Assistive Technology
The VLeBooks reader has inbuilt text-to-speech, available through ‘Read Online’ which can be used from both desktop and mobile views. The Read Aloud feature enables the user more freedom to roam desktops or browsing devices where traditional assistive software would
have been required. Read aloud is a core feature built into the VLeBooks platform allowing for wider audience access to audible facilities where assistive software may not have been possible or practical.

eBooks downloaded to eReader software such as Adobe Digital Editions can be read by most other software. Common software tools and their compatibility are as follows:

Read & Write Gold
This software has Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capability which enables the e-book to be read via the platform or via download through Adobe Digital Editions.

JAWS, NVDA
This is not compatible with the online reader. Download the eBook to Adobe Digital Editions to enable this software to perform.  We recommend accessing the software manufacturers’ own user guides for further information. 

Magnification
VLeBooks have over 20 levels of magnification using the built-in zoom function, available when reading via the platform, which is operated through the universally recognised zoom icons. Windows & iOS magnifier can also be used. 
The zoom function is designed to work as both a reduction and a magnification tool. The actual font size is dependent on device but typically a reading font size of between 4 to 36 is achievable.

Contrast and Colours

VLeBooks has options to change the page background colour, and some books have additional options such as High Contrast mode, dyslexia font, adjusting line, character and word spacing, and adding a reading ruler. 

VLeBooks User Guide

Accessibility options

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