Changes coming to Proquest Ebook Central
From 1 May 2025, our main ebook provider, Ebook Central, will change its default ebook format from PDF to the more modern and accessible EPUB format. EPUB is a flexible and screen reader accessible format that presents text, images, videos, links and other embedded interactive elements in a screen reader friendly format. It also reflows page content to optimally fit different size screens and with different sized fonts. At the same time, Proquest have decided to move to a more streamlined user interface, so some of the familiar tools you might use will be hidden initially.
Changes to the look and feel of Ebook Central
Proquest have taken this opportunity to streamline their interface and hide many of the tools you may be used to seeing along the top of the screen. Click on the three dots at the top of the screen to view icons opening:
- Book icon – Your Ebook Central online bookshelf (books you have added to your bookshelf)
- Menu icon – table of contents for the ebook you are viewing
- Magnifying glass icon – Search within this book
- AA icon – Change font size
- Star icon – View links to all highlights and notes you’ve written
If you want to highlight or annotate Ebook Central ebooks, you now simply click or tap and drag to highlight text and the highlight/annotate pop-up menu will appear:
Impact on referencing for EPUB ebooks
EPUB ebooks have no fixed page numbers. If you change the font size or view an ebook on different size screens, such as using your mobile phone instead of your laptop, or even resize the web browser window you are using on a larger screen, you will see a different amount of content appear on each numbered page. This means you can no longer use page numbers in your in-text citations when quoting from EPUB format ebooks or in reference list entries for book chapters in edited EPUB format ebooks.
APA (7th ed.) style referencing specifics
You can carry on referencing PDF ebooks from other sources, where the page numbers are fixed and the text does not reflow for different font or screen sizes as normal. For modern EPUB ebooks, where the text reflows to optimally fill the screen:
Direct quotes and figures
Follow the guidance on Referencing@Portsmouth for citing an ebook that lacks page numbers.
Reference list entries for chapters in edited EPUB ebooks
If you reference a chapter from an edited ebook in EPUB format, simply leave out the page numbers from the reference list entry.
Advice for other referencing styles
If you are using the OSCOLA or Vancouver referencing styles, please contact your Faculty Librarian for guidance on how to reference EPUB format ebooks.
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