EBSCO is replacing Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) with a new digital rights management (DRM) software, Readium Licensed Content Protection (LCP). Patrons will still need an ebook reader on their devices to download full ebooks, but they will not need to have a separate account to do so (like with ADE). EBSCO recommends patrons use Thorium Reader, but other ebook readers will work with Readium.
This new software will be enabled for UAlberta on May 19th.
What’s changing:
- DRM technology: LCP DRM will replace Adobe DRM for EBSCO eBooks downloads.
- Reader app: For DRM-protected downloads on desktop, EBSCO recommends Thorium Reader.
- Patron login: Patrons will continue to use their MyEBSCO accounts for personalization and license control. However, to open their first DRM file in Thorium on each device, they will enter a one-time EBSCO passphrase.
Further information can be found on this EBSCO blog post and this FAQ page. Download information for Thorium Reader is available here: https://thorium.edrlab.org/en/. Thorium Reader will not be downloaded onto library workstations.
Important note: this change will only affect full ebook downloads. The experience for reading EBSCO ebooks online and downloading single chapters remains unaffected.