E-books FAQs

What is an e-book and how do I read one?
What are the benefits of e-books?
How do I buy e-books from the NIACE e-books website?
Can I view pages before I choose to buy?
What is the price of an e-book and does it include VAT?
Can I order e-books by telephone?
Can I get a refund on my e-book purchase?
Can I buy an e-book as a gift for someone I know?
Which e-book formats can I buy from NIACE?
What is the difference between the online (ONL), ePub and AER formats?
What will I need in order to read an e-book in ePub or Adobe (AER) formats?
How do I install Adobe Digital Editions?
Do I need to be online to read my e-books?
Can I print content from the e-books I buy?
Can I share my e-books with others?
Can I create a library of the e-books I buy, to access whenever I like and in case I lose the copies I've downloaded?
How I can I find out when new books are published?
Can e-books be made available for inspection for university and college lecturers?
What if I have problems downloading an e-book?
Can I read e-books purchased through the NIACE e-books website on my Amazon Kindle?

Where else can I buy NIACE e-books?

What is an e-book and how do I read one?

An e-book is an electronic book - a digital version of a printed book. Our e-books can be read either online, or offline on a desktop or laptop computer, or a handheld device such as an e-reader.

What are the benefits of e-books?

Though our books are available in print as before, there are many benefits to reading them as e-books.

Instead of having a collection of heavy books which you may previously have had to carry with you, e-books allow you to build a substantial library that can be instantly accessed anywhere on your computer or reading device.

Tools such as dictionary, encyclopedia, translation and maps look-up are available.

Depending on the device you're reading on and the format purchased, accessibility features such as the size and typeface of text, line spacing, number of words per line and page orientation can be adjusted. Some devices will also read the book aloud.

Passages of text can be highlighted, electronic notes made and pages bookmarked for later reference.

And of course, e-books can be downloaded and read instantly without having to wait for delivery.

How do I buy e-books from the NIACE ebooks website?

First register an account and make sure you are logged in. If you want to purchase our books in downloadable Adobe or ePub formats for reading offline on your computer or portable device, first you'll need to download a free copy of the Adobe Digital Editions software to your computer. This will act as an offline library of all your downloaded books and is the software you will use to transfer your e-books to other devices, such as a Sony Reader.

Simply view the books you're interested in on the NIACE e-books website, then select 'Add to Cart' from the 'Purchase Options' menu on the left-hand side of the page. Then select the format you would like by ticking the relevant option in the 'Available Licenses' column (see the later section on this page for an explanation of the formats available). When you have added all of the items you wish to buy to your shopping cart, click 'Go to Shopping Cart' and follow the instructions to pay for your items via our secure payment partner.

You'll then be able to view any items you've bought in the online format straight away. For downloadable AER or ePub books, you'll be able to click on a link that will download the books to Adobe Digital Editions.

An email will also be sent to you confirming that your order has been processed.

Can I view pages before I choose to buy?

Yes. A certain number of pages of every book are available to view freely in the online format to allow you to review the content and make the decision to buy. You will need to be registered in order to use certain functionality, including adding books to your wish list.

What is the price of an e-book and does it include VAT?

Our e-books are the same price as our printed books, though unlike printed books they are subject to VAT, which is included in the price advertised.

Can I order e-books by telephone?

No. E-books can only be purchased from the NIACE e-books website, or the websites of any other online retailers they are licensed to.

Can I get a refund on my e-book purchase?

No. Once purchased, all of our e-books are non-returnable.

Can I buy an e-book as a gift for someone I know?

Yes. You can choose to gift e-books in any format available. Once you have logged in or registered, follow these steps:

• Choose the book(s) to be sent as a gift.
• Follow the ecommerce steps.
• At the secure checkout, you will see a list of all the content you have selected for purchase (this can be a mixture of books for yourself and those you want to send to others). Select 'Yes' in the gift column against the item you want to send as a gift.
• Provide the email address and name of the person you wish to send the book to, together with a message.

You can then hover your mouse over 'View Details' to see the details you've saved and if you wish to make changes, you can click on 'Edit Details'.

After you have made the payment, you will get an Order ID which will be also be confirmed by email. Your friend will be emailed a unique Access Token Number with which to access your gift, together with your personal message. Any books you have purchased for yourself will appear in your bookshelf as normal.

Which e-book formats can I buy from NIACE?

E-books can be purchased from the NIACE e-books website in three different formats:

• Online (ONL)
• ePub
• Adobe (AER)

What is the difference between the online (ONL), ePub and AER formats?

The online (ONL) format allows you to browse the pages of the book whenever you are on the NIACE e-books website and logged in. You can search the full content, make notes, bookmark pages, and share links to content with others. A select number of pages of each book are available for free to all users to browse in this format as standard.

ePub is a downloadable format you can read offline. It includes reflowable text so you can easily alter the size of the text, change the font type or alter the size of the display to suit your needs. This makes ePub the most appropriate format for reading on smaller screens.

AER (Adobe) is a PDF format that maintains the appearance of the original printed book, but as with ePub offers active links to content within the book and to external websites. This format is not generally reflowable, but certain devices (such as the Sony Ereader) may have this capability.

What will I need in order to read an e-book in ePub or Adobe (AER) formats?

To purchase and download you will first need to install a free copy of the Adobe Digital Editions software, which acts as your offline e-book library. From there you can read them on screen, or transfer them to a supported portable device, such as an e-reader or smartphone.

How do I install Adobe Digital Editions?

Visit the Adobe Digital Editions site and follow the instructions to download the latest version for free. Full help on installing, activating and using the software is provided there.

Do I need to be online to read my e-books?

Only if you have purchased online (ONL) versions. Once downloaded, ePub and AER versions can be read offline via Adobe Digital Editions on your computer and on portable devices such as an e-book reader.

Can I print content from the e-books I buy?

You can print 5 pages per day from the downloadable e-book formats (AER and ePub).

Can I share my e-books with others?

No. The e-books purchased are for use by the purchaser (or the person receiving a book as a gift) and cannot be shared.

Can I create a library of the e-books I buy, to access whenever I like and in case I lose the copies I've downloaded?

Once registered with the site, your purchases will be added to your personal bookshelf, accessed via the 'My Account' section, and will be available to you when you need them.

How I can I find out when new books are published?

Simply set up an email alert when you are registered on the site by either clicking the 'Email Alerts' link below the subject category listing in the left-hand menu, or select 'My Account' from the menu at the top of the page and select 'Modify Information'. The select the subject categories of interest to receive an email when something new is published in those areas, and save the changes. 

Can e-books be made available for inspection for university and college lecturers?

Yes, access to the online version can be granted for inspection purposes when considering texts for course reading lists. This can be requested by first registering with the NIACE e-books site, then emailing niacecustomerservices@order-admin.co.uk, with your name, academic institution and contact details (including email address) and the name of the course you are running.

What if I have problems downloading an e-book?

Please send details of the problem to us via the 'Contact us' section on the NIACE e-books website and we will aim to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Can I read e-books purchased through the NIACE e-books website on my Amazon Kindle?

No. The e-book formats available from the NIACE e-books website are not compatible with Kindle. Kindle ebooks can only be bought from Amazon. 

Where else can I buy NIACE e-books?

As well as directly from our website at http://ebooks.niace.org.uk, you can also buy NIACE e-books from Amazon for Kindle, and from a large number of other online retailers worldwide, as well as for libraries via our partners DawsonEra, MyiLibrary and OverDrive.