eBooksHow to find them and use them

A Web resource @ your Library

Created by the Librarians of Jefferson CollegeMarch 2008

Why would I use an eBook, anyway?

• You can't get to campus-- the weather is bad, or you're sick, or you're at work, or the Library closes before you find time to work on your paper.

• Regular reference books are really heavy and take up a lot of space in your backpack.

• The book you want isn't on the shelves.  (We hate it when this happens, too.)

Don't panic!That's what we have eBooks for.

Q.  So what is an eBook?

        A.  It's just that-- a book that has been specially formatted so that people can get to it and read it on a website with a Web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and other stuff you use to access the Internet).  The result is just as many words, but fewer paper cuts.        Ebooks are provided by suppliers, the same way print books are provided by publishers.  These suppliers format the books and run the websites where these books are found.

Jefferson College's eBook supplier is

NetLibrary

Finding eBooks in the Catalog: Step 1

On the Library's page, select "Find Books, Films, Music..."  This will take you to the Library's catalog page.

Select the "Archway" logo, which will take you to the catalog itself.

Finding eBooks in the Catalog: Step 2

Search for the book you want in the catalog, either by keyword (general association), title, author, or subject.

If one of your search results is an eBook, the words "[electronic resource]" will appear somewhere in the results.  Under the field for "CALL #" it will be listed as a "NetLibrary Electronic Book".

Finding eBooks in the Catalog: Step 3

If you want to look specifically for eBooks, select the "Modify Search" button (it'll be above the search field in the catalog).

Select "EBOOK" from the "Material Type" menu, and hit the Search button again.

Finding eBooks in the Catalog: Step 4

Once you've clicked on the book in your search results, it will take you to a different screen, which shows the eBook's record-- it's full title, its author, its publisher, and also the library's holdings.

Click the link that says, "JEFFERSON COLLEGE ELECTRONIC BOOK, CLICK TO ACCESS."  You won't be able to access other college's eBooks.

Finding eBooks in the Catalog: Step 5

Congratulations!  You're in our NetLibrary site. 

You should see something similar to the image on the right-- it will have the title of the book, the name of the author, and an image of the front cover.

Click on "View this eBook" to open it up and start using it!

Using eBooks: General layout

Okay.  You're in.  Now what?

When you first access an eBook, this is what you'll see.

Using eBooks: Navigation

The Previous and Next buttons will flip through the eBook's pages, just as though it were a real book.  Enter a number into the "Page" field and hit Go to skip to a particular page.

The Table of Contents works in a manner similar to navigation links on a webpage; clicking on the chapter titles will take you to the first page of that chapter.

Using eBooks: Searching

The Search this eContent box can be accessed by either clicking the Search tab on top of an eBook's table of contents.  It's also available at the bottom of the screen.

Searching for a word-- in this case, "rotation"-- will find every time the word appears in that particular eBook.

Using eBooks: DictionaryThe Dictionary tab allows you to look up words you find in eBooks-- without having to turn back or leave the page you're currently reading.

An easy way to use this option is to copy and paste words you find in the text into the "Look up:" field in the Dictionary tab.

Image Sources

www.FreeImages.co.ukWikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org)

stockxpert (www.stockxpert.com)Jefferson College's website (www.jeffco.edu)

NetLibrary (www.netlibrary.com)