FAQ: Electronic books, journals and databases

Frequently asked questions about electronic books, journals, articles and databases acquired by Helsinki University Library.
Who is en­titled to use the elec­tronic re­sources of Helsinki University Library?

Electronic resources of the library can be used by the students, teachers, researchers and staff of the University of Helsinki, students of the Open University of the University of Helsinki and all customers visiting the library premises.

Accessing the electronic resources from outside the library locations via a remote connection requires a University user account.

If you are an external customer, you can access the electronic resources at the library premises either by using the library terminals or on your own laptop via a a HelsinkiUni guest network. The password to the guest network is uniguest.

Can I ac­cess elec­tronic ma­ter­ial from home us­ing my library card?

Electronic materials cannot be accessed remotely with the Helka card. Remote access to electronic resources is possible only by using a University user name.

If you are an external customer, you can access the electronic resources at the library premises either by using the library terminals or on your own device via a HelsinkiUni guest network. The password of the guest network is uniguest.

I do not have a University user ac­count. How can I ac­cess an e-book in the library col­lec­tions?

Customers who are not members of the University community can access our e-books and other electronic materials using the library terminals at our facilities. Library terminals are available at all Helsinki University library locations.

You can also read e-books on your own device in the library facilities via a HelsinkiUni guest network. The password to the guest network is uniguest.

Can I ac­cess elec­tronic materials from home? How?

If you have a University user account, you can access the library’s electronic resources via a remote connection.

Search for electronic materials acquired by Helsinki University Library using the Helka search. The Helka database provides links to access the materials remotely.

Why am I un­able to ac­cess an e-book? Why will the e-journal not open?

There can be several reasons for not being able to access electronic resources. Always search for electronic materials acquired by Helsinki University Library using the Helka search. The Helka database provides links to access the materials remotely.

If you still cannot open the materials, please contact the library customer service either by emailing e-library@helsinki.fi, using the chat function on the library website or visiting one of our customer service desks.

How do I down­load an e-book to a tab­let/​laptop/​smart­phone?

Please see the library’s guide on e-books for device-specific download instructions.

Why does the e-book not open in the reader soft­ware?

There can be several reasons for this. Further information can be found in the library’s e-book guide.

If you still cannot open the materials, please contact the library customer service either by emailing e-library@helsinki.fi, using the chat function on the library website or visiting one of our customer service desks.

How can all digital cop­ies be on loan?

Some e-books have restrictions set by the publishers. The library acquires licences for electronic materials. For example, if the library has acquired three licences for an e-book, it can be simultaneously checked out by three users. The aim of the library is to always acquire licences with no restrictions on the number of simultaneous users.

Do I have to sep­ar­ately log in to each elec­tronic book ser­vice?

Logging in to separate e-book services is not mandatory. You can also read books using your internet browser without logging in.

Some e-book services (such as EBSCO, Ebook Central, Ellibs) require you to log in to be able to download books. For most large electronic book services, you can create your own user account where, for example, any notes made in books will be preserved also after the book is returned.

For more detailed information on each service, please see the alphabetical list of e-book services in the library’s e-book guide.

What is Adobe au­thor­isa­tion/​ac­tiv­a­tion?

Adobe authorisation means that you grant a specific device the right to access an e-book file you have downloaded.

When you are downloading an e-book, Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) software will ask if you want to authorise your current device using the Adobe ID.

Authorisation using an Adobe ID means that you can access the e-book on several devices (for example, on a PC, Mac and mobile device). You can authorise a maximum of six devices. If you will only be using the one and same device to read the book, you can select authorisation without an Adobe ID.

May I share the materials with my col­leagues or fel­low stu­dents?

You are allowed to share a reasonable amount of articles or excerpts from an e-book for research, teaching or studying purposes.

I am look­ing for a thesis on Helda, but I can only see the ab­stract of the thesis. What should I do?

Helda will only provide the thesis abstract if the author of the thesis has not granted permission to publish the entire text electronically. In this case, you can access the thesis in its entirety on the library terminals at the library facilities. Library terminals are available at all Helsinki University Library locations.

Why should I use the library data­bases when I have already searched for art­icles on Google?

Google will not be able to find all library materials.

Always search for electronic materials acquired by Helsinki University Library using the Helka search. The Helka database provides links to access the materials remotely.