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.

If you need assistance with purchasing or accessing your purchased materials, please visit https://onlinebookstoresupport.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us.

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 "Sign In"
Click "Sign in with your NICC Login"
Sign in with your NICC account
Once you are signed in, select the "My Library" link in the menu on the left
Click on the image to access your 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 "My Library" from 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 "My Library" 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 "My Library" 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.

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:

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 by clicking on the "Help" link on your VitalSource homepage.

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.

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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