Research Librarian
Search (mostly) everything
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Discover: Start here for books, articles & moreSimultaneously search research databases plus the Five Colleges Libraries Catalog to find full-text articles, books, and more.
E-book Tips
HathiTrust Digital Library now offers members Emergency Temporary Access Service for digitized versions of many of the books we own in print; just log in using your Amherst username and password.
We have multiple e-book collections, listed below. E-books will also appear in your search results. Look for Amherst College: Link to resource or Five Colleges: Link to resource.
To limit to e-books only in Search Everything, search for your keywords and then use the Format filter in your search results page.
You will also need to limit to only Amherst College or Five Colleges shared e-books. Use the Library Location filter to select both "Five Colleges E-Resources" and "Amherst College Frost Library."
Having trouble with access?
If an e-book is only owned by another Five College library (ex: UMass), you won't be able to use it online.
Check out our e-book Troubleshooting & downloading guide for issues with viewing or downloading e-books.
Google books can also be helpful, even if the book you're looking for isn't fully online. You can search for a title or a keyword, and be able to see snippets or preview pages. You might also be able to see tables of content or the index of a book to get other clues for your topic.
You can request a purchase for an e-book that we don't own, though not all will be available in that format.
Can't find a book you need?
If you're having trouble finding a book you need, contact us!