News and problems

Ebook Central will be unavailable for four hours on Sunday 10 August, between 3-7 am while the supplier upgrades the platform to maintain its security and reliability.  

Any ebooks you download from the platform before this maintenance window will still be readable using the Ebook Central Reader app but you will not be able to use the platform to search for or read books online while the maintenance is carried out.  

From 1 September, we will no longer issue temporary day passes to visitors.  Members of the public who would like to visit the University Library should apply for an external membership through our website.  Please allow at least five days for us to process your application and print your card, and then collect it in person from the University Library Reception Desk during staffed hours.   

Once you have your external membership card, you will be able to use the University Library at any time the building is open by scanning your card at the entry turnstiles.  Adult external members will also be able to borrow up to two books at a time using our self-service kiosks.    

Under-18s membership

Young people aged 16-18 years may be issued an external membership card but are unable to borrow books and, for their first visit, will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian in order for them to complete a short consent form giving their permission for the use of our services. These forms may only be obtained from library staff during Reception Desk opening hours.

More information 

Please see our Visitors webpage for more information.  If you have any unanswered questions, please contact the Library.

We hope you are enjoying using the new Ebook Central Reader app to read your ebooks.  Built by the same people as the Ebook Central platform, the new app and Ebook Central are designed to work seamlessly together, offering an improved experience over the old app. 

If you have not already done so, you just need to download the app and link it to your Ebook Central account to get started.  Any ebooks you already downloaded on your device will still be available.

Getting started

We recommend at least reading the quick start guide below before attempting to register your new Ebook Central Reader app.  You can also watch a short video and sign up for an online training session:

• Download the quick start pdf guide 

• Watch a short video walkthrough 

• Sign up for an online training session 

You can find more help and guidance on the Library blog.  Library staff are also here in person and online to offer guidance and answer any questions you might have.

While we’ve worked hard to ensure a smooth transition, with so large a project it is inevitable that a few things won't work as expected right away. If you find anything that doesn't seem to work as expected or you cannot find anything you need, please let us know.  

Thank you for your support as we work continuously to enhance your digital library experience.

Known website problems

• Links to PDF documents are currently returning a '404 - page not found' error.
• The passwords page requires a VPN connection to access from off campus. (Updated: 15 July 2025)
• Our eDissertations database is temporarily unavailable.
• Some links pointing to pages on the old library website are not yet being redirected.

We are working to resolve all these problems as quickly as possible.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.  

Workarounds

If you find a link to one of our eresources is broken, you can still access it through the Library catalogue.  Visit the Library search page, search the Library catalogue (the second search box) for the resource by name, click on the catalogue search result, then follow the link in the catalogue record.

Please chat with a librarian online or email library@port.ac.uk if you have any questions or concerns or need access to content that is not currently available to you. 

We also encourage you to complete our feedback webform to let us know about any problems you are experiencing.