Brightspace Knowledge Base - Accessing your Textbooks

Accessing Your Textbooks

While taking courses at NICC, your instructor may require you to purchase digital materials for their course. You may find instructions on how to access these digital materials below.

Accessing your Textbook/Access Code Purchases

Accessing your Textbook

Accessing your eTextbook from the Bookstore Website

If you purchased a standalone eTextbook from the NICC Bookstore, you can redeem and access the book by doing the following:

Go to the NICC Bookstore and sign in to your account
Select the eLibrary button in the top right of the page
- This should redirect you automatically to VitalSource
Create a VitalSource account or sign in if you already have one
- If you do not have an account, select Sign In with Google and use your NICC account
Once you are signed in to VitalSource bookshelf, select the My Library button or click on the link in the menu on the left
Click on the image to access the textbook

Accessing your eTextbook from Brightspace

If you purchased a standalone eTextbook from the NICC Bookstore, you can redeem and access the book by doing the following:

Go to the main Brightspace Homepage
In the blue navigation bar, select the 'Access My Textbooks' link
Select the eLibrary tab in the top left of the page
Find the eBook you wish to view and select the Read Now button
- This should redirect you to VitalSource
Create a VitalSource account or sign in if you already have one
- If you do not have an account, select Sign In with Google and use your NICC account
Once you are signed in to VitalSource bookshelf, select the My Library button or click on the link in the menu on the left
Click on the image to access the textbook

Retrieving your Access Code

Accessing your Access Code from the Bookstore Website

If you purchased an access code from the NICC Bookstore, you can redeem and access the code by doing the following:

Go to the NICC Bookstore and sign in to your account
Select the eLibrary button in the top right of the page
- This should redirect you automatically to VitalSource
Create a VitalSource account or sign in if you already have one
- If you do not have an account, select Sign In with Google and use your NICC account
Once you are signed in to VitalSource bookshelf, select the My Library button or click on the link in the menu on the left
Click on the image with the "Access Code" tag underneath it
In the pop-up, select Reveal Access Code

From there, your Access Code can then be used to redeem access to your course's textbook integration. See Redeeming your Access Code in Brightspace for more information.

Please Note: You may see a "Visit Website" button when you click on the Access Code tile. You cannot use this link to redeem your code as you will need to use specific links in your course provided by your instructor.

Accessing your Access Code from Brightspace

If you purchased an access code from the NICC Bookstore, you can redeem and access the code by doing the following:

Go to the main Brightspace Homepage
In the blue navigation bar, select the 'Access My Textbooks' link
Select the eLibrary tab in the top left of the page
Find the Access Code you wish to redeem and select the Read Now button
- This should redirect you automatically to VitalSource
Create a VitalSource account or sign in if you already have one
- If you do not have an account, select Sign In with Google and use your NICC account
Once you are signed in to VitalSource bookshelf, select the My Library button or click on the link in the menu on the left
Click on the image with the "Access Code" tag underneath it
In the pop-up, select Reveal Access Code

From there, your Access Code can then be used to redeem access to your course's textbook integration. See Redeeming your Access Code in Brightspace for more information.

Redeeming your Access Code in Brightspace

Some instructors integrate their courses with specific textbook publishers such as McGraw Hill, Pearson, and more that may require an Access Code. If you do need to purchase an Access Code for your course, you will need to do the following to redeem it:

After you copy your Access Code in VitalSource (see above), navigate to your course in Brightspace
In your course, select Content in the blue navigation bar
Find and click on the integration link provided by your instructor
- This link should have a 'Lego' icon under it with the text "External Learning Tool"
- If you are unsure which link to click, please reach out to your instructor
After you click on this link, sign in or create an account using your NICC account information
- Some integrations may vary with this step. Select the integration link below that matches your textbook's publisher for instructions on how to redeem your Access Code:

From there, your code should activate and give you access to your instructor's integrated course as well as any other included materials such as eTextbooks, activities, and more.

Accessing your TextbookX Account Purchases

In some situations, you may purchase or have materials purchased for you under a personal or other Bookstore (TextbookX) account. If this does happen, you will need to access this other account to redeem your purchases. You can access this account by doing the following:

Go to the TextbookX Login page
Find the TextbookX Login on the right side of the screen
Select "Reset your password"
Enter the email address where you received the Order Confirmation email and select Reset Password
Wait for the password reset email
- It may take a few minutes before receiving this email
- Some email systems may mark these emails as spam, so you may need to check your Spam folder if you do not see the email in your Inbox
Click on the Password Reset link and create a new password
Select the Login button, or go back to the TextbookX Login page
Sign in using the new password you created
Click on the eLibrary button in the top right of the page
Create a VitalSource account or sign in if you already have one
- If you do not have an account, select Sign In with Google and use your NICC account
Once you are signed in to VitalSource bookshelf, select the My Library button or click on the link in the menu on the left

From there, you can click on the book cover icon to redeem your Access Code or access your eTextbook.

Troubleshooting & FAQs

What should I do if VitalSource has the wrong email?

If you click on eLibrary (Bookstore website) or Read Now (Brightspace Access My Textbooks), you may see a verification screen. If the email does not match your personal or NICC email, you will need to do the following:

In a new tab, go to https://myaccount.vitalsource.com/#/
Make sure User Info is selected from the menu on the left
Under Email, change this to match either your personal or NICC email
- Note: If you already have a VitalSource account, you cannot reuse that email with another account. Ex: If you have an NICC account already, change the email to your personal email.
Click Save
Try using the eLibrary or Read Now link again and you should receive a verification message to the email you provided

From there, you can click on My Library and see your purchased materials.

What should I do if I receive a "This code is invalid or may already be in use"?

If you receive this message when redeeming your code in Brightspace:

Ensure you are using the code you received in VitalSource after revealing your Access Code
Ensure your code is in the correct format and is not missing any characters

If you receive this message when redeeming your code in VitalSource:

Try to use the eLibrary link on the Bookstore website or the Read Now button in Brightspace under Access My Textbooks
Ensure you do not have another VitalSource account as you may have redeemed the code in another account

If you have gone through these steps and still are experiencing this error message, then you may have received an inactivated or bad code. You will need to reach out to VitalSource Support here.

I see my purchases in VitalSource, but how do I retrieve my Access Code?

Select the My Library link on the main homepage of Bookshelf or select the link on the left side of the screen
Click on the image to open the Access Code pop-up
Select "Reveal Access Code" to see the code

From there, you can copy the code and redeem it in your Brightspace course via a link provided by your instructor.

VitalSource says I don't have access to this book when I click eLibrary/Read Now, what do I do?

It is possible you may have another VitalSource Account active. Ensure you do not have any other tabs with VitalSource open and then select eLibrary or Read Now again. This should prompt VitalSource to open a new tab and log you in to access your materials. If you are still experiencing issues, you will need to reach out to VitalSource Support here.

Where can I access my VitalSource codes on the Bookstore website?

You can access your VitalSource codes by doing the following:

Open your email and look for your Order Confirmation from the NICC Bookstore
1. Note: This will be the email you used to purchase your textbooks or access codes
Copy the Order Number
Go to the Bookstore Website
Click Track at the top of the page
On the left side of the page, enter the email that received the Order Confirmation
Paste your Order Number from the email into the Order Number field
Click Track Order
Under your digital purchases, find the License Code

From there, you can copy and redeem these codes in VitalSource Bookshelf.

Can I access my eTextbook on my phone or tablet?

Yes! You can download the VitalSource Bookshelf App from any app store and access your digital purchases. After you download the app, log in to the VitalSource account that you used to redeem your purchases.

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