How You Download EBSCO E-books Has Changed

If you check out e-books through the library's EBSCO collection, there's a small but important change to be aware of. EBSCO has switched to a new app for reading downloaded e-books—from Adobe Digital Editions to Thorium Reader.

Here's what you need to know.

What has Changed

When you download a full e-book from EBSCO, you'll now open it in Thorium Reader instead of Adobe Digital Editions. Thorium is a free, easy-to-use app that works on Windows and Mac. Mobile versions for iOS and Android are forthcoming.

You'll also notice one new step in the download process: EBSCO will show you a passphrase to copy into Thorium the first time you open a book. After that, Thorium remembers it for you.

What Is Staying the Same

  • You'll still find and check out e-books the same way through EBSCOhost

  • Checkout periods and download options (PDF or EPUB) remain unchanged

  • Reading in the online viewer in your web browser works exactly as before—no app needed

What You Need to Do

  1. Download Thorium Reader for free at thorium.edrlab.org

  2. The next time you download an EBSCO e-book, copy the passphrase shown and paste it into Thorium when prompted

That's it!

Need Help?

Our step-by-step guide for downloading EBSCO e-books has been updated accordingly.

You can also review the full FAQ from EBSCO about this transition for more detail.

Questions? Contact the library. We're happy to help you get set up.

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