Introduction to the Library s Electronic Books (ebooks)

Transcription

1 Revised May What are ebooks and what type of ebooks does the Library offer? 2. How are ebooks accessed? 3. How do I view, navigate, search, print, and within an ebook online? 4. Can I check out or in other words, download an ebook to a computer or e-reader? 5. Are there limits to the number of pages that may be printed or ed? 6. When I am finished with viewing an ebook, how do I exit the book? 7. I am having problems using ebooks. What can I do? 1. What are ebooks and what type of ebooks does the Library offer? Electronic books or ebooks are online, full-text versions of books. Since they are online, they are accessible from any computer connected to the Internet, to be used at your convenience, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The ECC Library s ebooks cover a wide variety of subjects. Our ebooks have been obtained from four vendors, EBSCO Publishing (NetLibrary ebooks), Springer Science + Business Media (Springer ebooks), Gale (Gale Virtual Library ebooks), and Credo (Credo Reference ebooks). The Library purchased ebooks from the first three vendors, and subscribe to ebooks provided by Credo. Specific features and functions will vary based on vendor. 2. How are ebooks accessed? The primary method of accessing ebooks from the EBSCO, Springer, and Gale vendors is through the Library s catalog at Credo ebooks may be accessed through the Library catalog or through the Credo Reference

2 database. (Go to for on-campus access to this database. For off-campus access, you must login to MyECC first. View this tutorial video for additional information about the off-campus access procedure.) If you are searching the ECC Library catalog just for ebooks (perhaps you re interested in just browsing through our electronic book collection), you have a couple of options. o On the basic search screen (see below) you may type electronic books (with quotation marks) in the Search box, making sure that the type of search is Keyword, which is the default search type. Then press the Enter key or click on the Submit button. You will be presented with records for all the ebooks we own; these records span over many pages. 2

3 o Or you may use the Advanced Keyword Search feature of the catalog. On the catalog home page, select Advanced Keyword from the More Searches pull-down in the upper right corner and then click on the rightfacing arrow. 3

4 You will be automatically presented with the Advanced Keyword Search screen. In the first search box, enter the appropriate keyword(s) for the electronic book(s) in which you are interested, for example, global warming. Then in the Add Limits section, under Material Type, click on ebooks and then on the Submit button. You will be presented with a listing of ebook records that include your search keyword(s). 4

5 o Even if you are not specifically searching for ebooks, the titles of ebooks will automatically appear as part of your search results if their records match your search criteria. Within catalog records, ebooks may be identified by the ebook icon to the left of the book title. Click on the resulting ebook titles that interest you, just as you would the titles of printed books in the catalog. o In an ebook s full record in the catalog, you will see the phrase Connect to and the link This electronic book. If you are using an on-campus ECC computer, click on the link, and if the ebook is available, you will be presented with an introductory screen for the ebook in a second window. o If you are using an Internet-connected computer off-campus, and the ebook is available, you will be presented first with a login screen. Enter your first and last name as well as your 7-digit E.C.C. ID #. If you are not able to login successfully, it s probably because you do not have a valid, current ECC I.D. card that has been activated as a library card. You will need to ask at the Circulation Desk of the Schauerman (Main) Library for help in resolving this problem, unless you are a registered Distance Education student. If you are a registered Distance Education student who doesn t have an up-to-date E.C.C. ID card with activated library privileges, report your situation using the Ask-A-Librarian online service form at library_ser/ask_a_librarian.asp. Supply your last name, first name, 7-digit E.C.C. ID #, and identify yourself as a Distance Education student who needs library privileges. Library privileges will be granted, and then you will be able to successfully login. o Note that EBSCO ebooks are shared with other community colleges. If you wish to view an EBSCO ebook, but no copy is available, you will receive a pop-up message indicating that the ebook is in use. You will need to check again later to determine its availability. The Library s other ebooks, ebooks from vendors Gale, Springer Science + Business Media, and Credo are not shared in this way, and there is no limit on the number of users accessing these ebooks at any one time. 5

6 3. How do I view, navigate, search, print, and pages of an ebook online? All the ebooks provide these features, but they work differently depending on the specific vendor. After connecting to an ebook by clicking on the link This electronic Book, in the ebook s full Library catalog record, you will be presented with one of four possible screens, each associated with a different vendor. For each screenshot below, click on the associated vendor ebook link to get information about viewing, navigating, searching, printing, and ing. EBSCO ebooks 6

7 Springer ebooks Gale Virtual Reference Library ebooks 7

8 Credo Reference ebooks 8

9 Here is a screenshot of an introductory page from an ebook provided by EBSCO Publishing. General Publication Information Click here to look inside the book starting with the cover. Click on these chapter links to view specific chapters. 9

10 Here is another screenshot of the cover of the same ebook. All pages within the ebook offer page navigation, keyword searching, printing and ing tools. For copyright reasons, users are limited to printing or ing a maximum of 60 pages at a time from EBSCO ebooks. Click to search within the book. To Print To Use to navigate within the book. k 10

11 Here is a screenshot of the introductory book page from an ebook published by Springer Science +Business Media. Springer is a publisher that specializes in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Click here to download, save, or print the entire book. General publication Information To preview the book (usually the first chapter). Enter keywords to search within the book. (Make sure that the window is maximized in order to see this search box.) Click on chapter title for a chapter summary. More book information, a summary, etc. Click to download the chapter in PDF, view, save, print, or . 11

12 Most Springer ebooks will offer a Download Book link to allow you to download the entire book in one step, and then view, save, or print using the various icons on an Adobe PDF toolbar. Springer ebooks have no copyright restrictions on the number of pages that may be printed, saved, or ed. Click on the Download PDF link to view as well as download, then save, print or a specific chapter. There is a separate link for chapter viewing only. See the screenshot below. Note that in ing, you should send the page(s) or a chapter as a PDF file attachment to an note rather than use the Adobe SendNow option, which costs money. Print Icon. Icon Save Icon 12

13 Please note that some Springer ebooks offer a View Chapter link in addition to the Download PDF link. When you click on this, you will be able to view the chapter in HTML format. Then if you wish to print the chapter, follow the normal FILE pull-down /select PRINT sequence of steps, and if you wish to save, select SAVE AS. See the screenshot below. However, you cannot from this page, which is why generally-speaking, it is better to use the Download PDF link since all functions viewing, downloading/saving, printing, and ing-- are easily accomplished this way. 13

14 Here is a screenshot of the introductory book page from a Gale Virtual Reference Library ebook. The Gale Virtual Reference Library is a collection of encyclopedias and other specialized reference sources that are designed to provide easy access to factual information. You may view, search within, and download titles anytime from any Internet-connected device. The About This Publication page with publication information is displayed first when you connect to an ebook from the Library catalog. From here, you may select the Table of Contents, Book Index or List of Illustrations links, or enter keywords to search within the publication. 14

15 Below is a screenshot of the Table of Contents page. Other features available include the following: ebook Index: Navigate within the ebook Index by clicking Previous or Next, using the browse box, or selecting a letter link. Then click on a hyperlinked page number below an index heading to go to the referenced page within the ebook article or chapter. List of Illustrations: Link directly to photographs, tables, maps, etc., when available, within an ebook. Search within publication capability: Search results consist of individual documents from ebooks. 15

16 You can filter your results in several ways using the left-hand sidebar, including by Document Type, Publication Title, Subjects, etc. Terms within each filter are listed in descending order by number of results (the number in parentheses). Click a term to view only those results. A View More link is provided for longer lists. 16

17 You may view a document either in PDF format or in what is known as text format. Here is a screenshot of a document view. Initially the document will be displayed as TEXT, but you may switch to PDF view on the right side of the article from the grey banner. To To Download to Drive To Download to ereader To Select Document View To Print Text View - Displays the text of the article -- along with any images and sidebars -- as one continuous page. Use this view when you want to use article tools such as print, , download and save the open document to a flash drive, hard drive, etc., download PDF to an ereader, and more. 17

18 PDF View See screenshot below. This view displays the article as it appears in the corresponding print publication using a built-in PDF viewer. The document viewer in PDF allows the following actions: Next and Previous arrows: Page through the article, jump to the first or last page, or go the next article. Facing Pages: display side-by-side pages, as in a book. Full Screen: Maximizes the viewing window. Zoom in or out: magnifies the PDF document. Print the article using the tool provided. Listen: Listen to the document being read aloud. Zoom In or Out Full Screen Next/Previous Arrows To Print 18

19 Here is a screenshot of the introductory About this book page from a Credo Reference ebook. Like the Gale ebooks, the Credo ebooks are full-text online versions of reference books, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and atlases, on a wide range of subjects. Click here to view Table of Contents. Publication information Enter keywords to search within the book. 19

20 On the Table of Contents page, all the links under Contents are clickable to display the content of the various entries. Above the Contents, there is a toolbar of available functions the playing of an audio recording of the Contents listing, ing, printing, saving, and sharing the Contents page with various social media. Note that saving is a multi-step process: click on Save and then on Saved Results. Links for listening to content, ing, printing, saving, and sharing. Links to other Library resources Links to content entries/ articles. 20

21 When you click on one of the entry or article links, you are provided with the full text of the entry, including any images, footnotes, charts, graphs, etc. that you would see in the print version of the book. Related Resources are links to the Library catalog and selected databases. Click on the catalog link or a database name to automatically execute a power search within the catalog or database for the entry term of the article that you are reading, in this case, anteaters. You will be taken to the relevant page of the catalog or database, opening in a new window or tab. Links for listening to content, ing, printing, saving, and sharing. Enter keywords to search within the book. Links to the Library Catalog and selected databases. Link that will take you to a Topic Page that summarizes information on the entry subject from many reference books. 21

22 4. Can I check out or in other words, download an ebook to a computer or e-reader? The EBSCO ebooks may be viewed and used in a variety of ways, but they cannot be downloaded or checked out. Generally, there is only one copy of each EBSCO ebook title, and only one user at a time can have access to it. You do have exclusive use of an ebook for the time that you are actively using it online. Actively using an ebook is any use of the keyboard, for example, associated with turning pages, searching within the full-text, etc. Activity is measured in 15- minute increments. If you are not actively viewing the item after a 15-minute period, it automatically becomes available for someone else to view. If you wish to view an ebook, and another user is using it, you will receive a status message that the Library s copy is in use. Under these circumstances, the ebook s Table of Contents is all that you can view. You can try to access the title again later. The Library s other ebooks are not shared with other libraries and may be downloaded to any computer or e-reader which supports PDF format files. Look for download links in these ebooks generally the download occurs at the chapter or document level. Also, these ebooks allow unlimited simultaneous usage by multiple users. 5. Are there limits to how many pages may be printed or ed by a user? The copyright protection features in EBSCO ebooks affect their printing and ing also. When you click on the print or icons in the column to the right of a viewed EBSCO ebook, you will be presented with limitations and options, depending on the specific ebook. Generally, up to 60 pages of a title may be printed or ed by a user in a session. However, the number of pages may vary depending on requirements of the publisher of an individual ebook. With Springer, Gale, and Credo ebooks, you may print or as many pages as you want. 6. When I am finished with viewing an ebook, how do I exit the book? When you are finished using an EBSCO ebook, click on the Detailed Record link in the upper left corner of the screen in which you are viewing the ebook. You are now out of the ebook and back to the introductory Detailed Record for the ebook. Then just close the EBSCO Detailed Record by clicking on the x in the upper right corner of the screen. For the ebooks from the other vendors, just close the window(s) in which you are viewing the ebook. In all cases, note that you still should have an open, separate catalog window for resuming use of the catalog if you want. 22

23 7. I am having problems using ebooks. What can I do? First, you should review the following information. o Verify that you do not have a pop-up blocker program running. If you have any pop-up blocker programs running, you will need to allow pop-ups for the few specific web sites associated with our ebooks. o Since our ebooks are generally in PDF format, Adobe Reader software is also required version 8.2 or higher is recommended. The Adobe Reader software is a free download available from Once it is installed on your computer, open the Adobe Reader program, click on the Edit pull-down menu at the top, then Preferences, and then Internet. Make sure that there is a check mark next to display PDF in browser. o If you are using a Macintosh computer instead of a PC and experience problems with viewing an ebook despite meeting the requirements identified above, you may need to install a PDF plug-in available at If you still need help, submit your question(s) online to librarians through the Ask-A-Librarian service at or contact a librarian at the Library s Reference Desk. The Reference Desk phone number is Typical hours of Reference Desk operation during the fall and spring are M-Th., 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday 8-4:30, Saturday 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Hours may vary during other times of the year. MI 5/15/