Home > Changes Are Coming to Our E-Books: What to Know About VitalSource
Changes Are Coming to Our E-Books: What to Know About VitalSource
Apr 07, 2026
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By CS Team
Dear Canadian Scholars Customers,
We are excited to announce an important update regarding how you’ll access your eBooks and digital review copies moving forward. Starting April 14, 2026, all digital purchases and review copies will be available through the VitalSource Bookshelf e-reader and app.
What is VitalSource?
VitalSource Bookshelf is a leading digital platform that allows you to access eBooks across most computers, tablets, and smartphones. VitalSource offers a range of features designed to enhance your learning experience, such as:
Study tools (including margin notes, bookmarking, and global search).
Text-to-speech functionality for read-aloud learning.
Accessibility options to support a variety of learning needs.
Read On-The-Go with the option to read offline.
For more information about VitalSource, visit their website.
What Does This Mean for You?
All existing customer purchases will be seamlessly migrated to the VitalSource Bookshelf platform. This change means that RedShelf will no longer be used for accessing our eBooks.
While we aim to make this transition as smooth as possible, there may be brief interruptions to services during the changeover. However, we anticipate very little downtime overall.
To ensure you're prepared, here’s what you can expect over the next two weeks:
An updated Customer Support page with step-by-step instructions on how to access your eBooks on VitalSource.
Full migration of your current eBook library to VitalSource.
Please Note: Any highlights or notes made in your RedShelf eBooks have not been transferred over. If you prefer to keep using RedShelf to access these notes, you can still log in directly to RedShelf.com using the same email and password as your Canadian Scholars account.
How to Access Your eBooks on VitalSource
Simply log in to canadianscholars.ca, go to your e-Book Library, and click on Access eBook.
If it’s your first time logging in after the transition date, you’ll need to link your Canadian Scholars account to your VitalSource Bookshelf account or create a new VitalSource Bookshelf account if you’ve never used this platform before.
Once verified, your eBooks will open in the VitalSource Bookshelf e-reader!
Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to making your eBook experience even better with VitalSource!
Reflowable eTextbooks respond to the size of the device they are viewed on, much like a typical website. This causes them to look different from a traditional book. They may also contain embedded audio, video, or interactive components in addition to the RedShelf Reader's standard study tools.
What is a Fixed Layout eBook?
A fixed layout eTextbook maintains the look and the feel of a printed textbook. The text is fixed, and the screen size determines the size of the text. These eTextbooks work best on large-screen devices and do not contain any embedded media or interactive content.
Auto Renew
Auto renew allows e-book rentals to be automatically renewed after the initial rental duration. If enabled, you will automatically be charged and your rental will renew for the same duration as purchased. Auto renew is set to off by default. If auto renew is off, you lose access to the e-book after the rental duration.
Hi there!
All digital products are non-refundable and cannot be downloaded outside of the VitalSource Bookshelf app.
The digital eBook you have selected is a Rental and will expire when the selected duration runs out. If you would like to purchase lifetime access to this eBook, please select a Purchase option instead.
