How to Remove DRM from eBooks for mass distribution and education
EBooks in library systems are treated like physical books: when someone checks an ebook out, it becomes inaccessible to everyone else. Right now, waitlists for anti-racist literature are in the double digits, meaning people are going to wait weeks or months to access to information that they need for meaningful education and organization.
Anti-racist education hinges on easy accessibility of anti-racist literature. Ironically, libraries are now a barrier to the mass education they usually offer.
Those without the luxury to buy books are being barred from vital information. However, there are ways of removing the protective DRM from ebooks purchased from distributors or borrowed from library services like Overdrive.
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, and colloquially refers to the means through which a company prevents its digital media from being used and distributed beyond its control. DRM in ebooks imposes loan periods on books and prevents digital books from being read beyond intended software or hardware.
Under normal circumstances, these limitations would be a nuisance—I only learned this method so I could get library books on a second-hand Kindle—but now, DRM is a direct barrier to anti-racist education.
Software:
1. Calibre
2. DeDRM Plugin for Calibre
3. Adobe Digital Editions (for EPUB books)
Installing the DeDRM Plugin for Calibre
via Apprentice Alf on WordPress
1. Install Calibre
2. Download the DeDRM Plugin (do not Unzip)
2. In Calibre, navigate to ‘Preferences’ (You may need to expand the window)
3. Under the ‘Advanced’ heading, navigate to ‘Plugins’
4. Click “Load Plugin from File”
5. Navigate to where you downloaded the DeDRM plugin and install
Removing DRM
1. Import your book to Calibre (EPUB books need to be processed through Adobe Digital Editions before being imported to Calibre)
2. Select the book(s) you want DRM-free
3. Click “Convert”
4. Select your Output format. MOBI for e-readers, PDF for general purpose.
5. Once the conversion is complete, navigate to [User] -> Calibre Library. Your book(s) should be organized in folders by author.
Be aware that I have occasionally had issues with formatting when converting PDFs to an eReader-friendly format.
Converting EPUB books with Adobe Digital Editions
Some library services like Overdrive offer some books only in the EPUB format that can’t be used with eReaders and lacks the accessibility of PDFs. Adobe Digital Editions can read the EPUB format, and is necessary for converting the book into a format that Calibre can import.
1. Install and authorize Adobe Digital Editions
2. Import the ‘.ACSM’ book downloaded from a library service.
3. While importing, Digital Editions should have created a ‘.EPUB’ version of your book
4. For Windows, use your explorer to navigate to Documents -> My Digital Editions
5. Import the ‘.EPUB’ file to Calibre to convert and remove DRM
Helpful Articles
“DeDRM plugin for calibre: the simplest option for removing DRM from most ebooks”
“How do I install and authorize Adobe Digital Editions?”
How to send an unprotected document to an Amazon Kindle via email
