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September 16th, 2026
Purdue Libraries provides access to thousands of eBooks for teaching, learning, and research. Most eBooks can be read online in your browser, and many also offer the option to download individual chapters as PDFs.
If you need to download an entire eBook for offline reading, however, you may need to use a dedicated eReader app. Because of licensing and digital rights management (DRM) requirements, eBooks from some of our major vendors use specific applications for full-book downloads.
Purdue Libraries supports two apps for downloading entire eBooks: ProQuest Ebook Central and Thorium Reader, which is used with EBSCO eBooks.
ProQuest Ebook Central
ProQuest Ebook Central provides access to eBooks available through the ProQuest platform. The Ebook Central Reader app allows you to download eligible eBooks and read them offline. If you regularly work with eBooks for research or teaching, our Ebook Central Reader App guide provides step-by-step instructions for setting up and using the app.
Using a Purdue-owned device? If you don’t have administrator privileges, submit a ticket to Purdue IT to request the Ebook Central app. Ask them to add your device to the EbookCentralReaderApp-2.05.04 software package, which is the current version.
Thorium Reader for EBSCO eBooks
EBSCO eBooks are available through a variety of library databases. Eligible titles can be downloaded as entire books and read offline using Thorium Reader, an open-source eReader application. Our EBSCO eBooks and Thorium Reader guide provides instructions for downloading and reading EBSCO eBooks with Thorium Reader.
What about chapter downloads?
If you only need a chapter or a small portion of an eBook, you can continue to download individual chapters as PDFs when that option is available (download options and limits are set by the publisher and cannot be changed by Purdue Libraries). You do not need one of these apps for chapter-level PDF downloads. The apps are primarily useful when you need to download and read an entire eBook offline.
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