This page explains how to determine how many simultaneous users an e-book has. Simultaneous uses refers to how many users can view an e-book the same time.
Books24x7 and publisher books that are available from the publisher platform (such as Wiley, Springer, Gale Virtual Reference Library, and Elsevier) all have unlimited simultaneous users. In contrast, titles from publishers such as Wiley that are on the ProQuest or EBSCOhost platform may have limited simultaneous users.
There is no way to know from IUCAT the number of simultaneous users an e-book has.
You can tell in IUCAT that an e-book is on the ProQuest platform because the URL field will start with http://site.ebrary.com or http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.
ProQuest e-books can be single-user or multi-user. Multi-user titles, also called unlimited-user or unlimited-access titles, can be viewed simultaneously by an unlimited number of users. You can tell that a title falls into this category if you see the text that says “Unlimited access.” (See screenshot for example.)
If a ProQuest e-book is single-user, you will see the text that says “1 copy.” (See screenshot for example.)
You are considered to be using a title if you download it or simply view it online.
Another status you might see is “Limited User Access (365 Uses Available).” This means there can be approximately 365 uses per year, and there can be unlimited (within the 365 constraint) simultaneous users at a given time.
Sometimes University Library buys more than one copy of a single-user title. For example, if we buy two copies, then two users can access the e-book at the same time.
The last copy of an ebook from ProQuest will not be able to be downloaded or checked out. So, for example, if an e-book is single-user, it may not be downloaded. 3-user titles allow 2 downloads, and preserve online access for 1 user. Multiple-user titles may be downloaded an unlimited number of times.
You can tell in IUCAT that an e-book is on the EBSCOhost platform because the URL field will start with http://search.ebscohost.com or http://www.netlibrary.com (EBSCO absorbed netLibrary recently and the old URLs have not been updated).
Like ebrary e-books, EBSCOhost e-books can be single-user or multi-user (also known as unlimited simultaneous users). Another status you might see is “Limited User Access (365 Uses Available)" also known as concurrent access. This means there can be approximately 365 uses per year, and there can be unlimited (within the 365 constraint) simultaneous users at a given time. The EBSCOhost record will state how many users can access the e-book. (See screenshot for example.)
EBSCOhost e-books with netLibrary URLs are almost all single-user.
The last copy of an ebook from EBSCOhost are not able to be downloaded or checked out. So, for example, if an e-book is single-user, it may not be downloaded. 3-user titles allow 2 downloads, and preserve online access for 1 user. Multiple-user and concurrent access titles may be downloaded without preserving online access for a final user.
