Customers may occasionally find that an eBook which was previously accessible is no longer available. Springer Nature aims to provide stable, long term access to all purchased content, but there are situations where an eBook must be removed from our platforms.
This article explains the common reasons and what you can do if you believe you should still have access.
Why an eBook may be removed
1. Copyright or rights-related restrictions
Sometimes Springer Nature can no longer distribute the eBook due to copyright or rights changes. This can happen when:
- A third party owns the rights
- Rights move to another publisher
- A legal or contractual restriction applies
- Parts of the book, such as images’ copyright are not cleared
When rights are no longer available, we must remove the eBook.
2. Publisher request or legal requirement
In rare cases, a book is withdrawn because of:
- Author or publisher request
- Legal issues
- Intellectual property concerns, such as plagiarism
In these situations, we must remove the content to follow legal and rights obligations.
3. Quality or production issues
If there is a major issue with the eBook files, the title may be taken offline temporarily while the problem is reviewed.
4. Hosting‑Only Titles
Some titles on Springer Nature Link are hosting only. For these books, Springer Nature no longer has the distribution rights, which belong to another publisher. These titles:
- Remain accessible for customers who licensed the books when Springer Nature did have the distribution rights
- Are not / no longer owned by Springer Nature
- May appear as deleted in MARC records
- Remain visible on the platform but access is controlled by the external publisher’s rights
For this type of content, entitlement and access may change based on the external publisher’s agreements.
What this means for customers with entitlements
If your institution previously licensed the title and you believe access should still be available, our team can review the case.
In most situations:
- If the title was removed due to rights restrictions, we are legally unable to restore access.
- If the removal was caused by a technical or metadata error, we will work with our internal teams to fix it.
You may request a review through our general issue form.
Information available to customers
You can view a list of withdrawn titles relevant to your licensed collections by using the Springer Nature Metadata Downloader. This tool includes an option to download a list of titles marked as deleted within the collections you hold.
What to do if you need help
If you believe an eBook has been removed in error, or if your institution previously had access but no longer does, please contact us through our general issue form with:
- Title and ISBN/eISBN
- Details of how you previously accessed the title
Our support team will investigate and provide the appropriate next steps.