Tag: eBooks

Database of the Month: Gale EBooks

Dominique

Gale EBooks is an excellent assist for online education, especially for those working remotely. Instructors can embed content on a website or in a Blackboard site. Gale EBooks needs no special downloads or apps, making it a friendly resource for various types of device and student skill levels. There is no limit to the number of people who can view the item at one time, and users can access the book without a checkout. 

The best description for how to use Gale EBooks for learning online is found in the library’s guide for online library resources in teaching.

Strong content

Gale EBooks supports Bentley’s business curriculum by offering valuable books such as “Encyclopedia of Global Brands“, which reveals how more than 200 products originated and were first marketed, and “Market Research Reporter: Trends Over Time”, useful for market segment research. Gale EBooks is great for choosing expository writing topics or researching history; Gale EBooks supports transgender research and gender related studies. Users can also find ample material to research film or business ethics topics.   

Get started with Gale EBooks

Say a student is interested in researching race and college athletes. Because Gale EBooks is a large collection of digital reference books, let’s search Race and NCAA and use 2-3 keywords at once to produce a succinct result set. A simple search for the word “race” alone yields 6,000+ titles on subjects ranging from ethnicity, race in video games, race and identity, nonwhite racial status, immigration, workplace diversity, all interesting, but much more than needed.

result set for "race and NCAA" search in Gale EBooks
result set for race and NCAA search

A quick review of the student’s results for the Race and NCAA search showcases the depth and breadth of Gale EBooks. Entries are authoritative, reliable, and on-topic, and they are explained with helpful images and uncomplicated vocabulary.

We discover, among many others, an appealing entry called “Race and Sport, North America” by author James R. Coates Jr., published in Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice (Vol. 3: Latin America and North America. ). 

book entry for "Race and Sport, North America"
inside an entry in Gale EBooks

Logical controls

Looking inside that entry, there are logical controls users will recognize from other e-book platforms. Let’s walk through some of the features more closely to appreciate their convenience:

  1. Listen: Gale EBook platforms provide accessible audio for many entries to advance users who prefer to absorb information by hearing. To activate the listen feature, the cursor must be within the article.
  2. Save to cloud: Google Drive and OneDrive both connect seamlessly.
  3. Email
  4. Download
  5. Print:  This helps answer the question “Can I download/print/email/save an eBook or eBook chapter?” with a “Yes!”
  6. “Further reading”: this feature in Gale EBooks enhances the learning experience and offers options to support debate, check facts, sound the depths of an issue, analyze history, and more.
  7. Cite: Citations are quick and user can select between MLA, APA, Chicago style.
create a citation
copy/paste the citation for your works cited list

Connect to the database

Begin your next search by using the link for Gale EBooks on the library’s Databases A-Z page. Gale EBooks requires current Bentley credentials (email address and password) for off-campus use.

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to useful library databases, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of these resources for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.

Unwind with Free Ebooks & Audiobooks

Kimberly

Come to an OverDrive Virtual Drop-In. Bring your own beverage, snack and device to the session, we will bring the content.

Planning to cozy up with some reading over the weekend? Register here and then virtually drop in at 3:00 p.m. any Saturday starting October 10 until November 21 to learn how to get free downloadable audiobooks and ebooks from OverDrive. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meetings (any that you would like to attend).

The Bentley Library’s OverDrive Collection provides thousands of eBooks and audiobooks, with an emphasis on popular fiction and nonfiction titles. You can enjoy many titles immediately online, download them for offline use, or send borrowed content to a specific device. Titles in this collection may be downloaded to laptops, PCs, iPads, Android devices, Kindles, Nooks, smartphones, and mp3 players through a web browser or through the OverDrive or Libby apps.

Don’t know what to listen or read next? We can provide a recommendation, tailored to your specific reading tastes, when you identify a few titles, authors, narrators, or genres that you enjoy.

If you think we are missing something, please suggest a purchase by sending an e-mail to refdesk@bentley.edu. Recommendations are always welcome.

Can’t want to wait to get started? Visit our OverDrive Library Guide for more information.

Databases of the Month: eBook Collections

Katie

This August we want to highlight our eBook collections as our Database of the Month to let you know about some of the resources that we have available that you can access anywhere. Our eBook collections contain a wide variety of materials including academic/scholarly titles, popular fiction and nonfiction books, and technical guides.

Bentley students, faculty, and staff just need their Bentley email address and password to begin accessing the resources in these collections both on and off campus.

While some of our eBooks can be found by doing a search in the Bentley Library Catalog, searching directly on the platforms will be your best opportunity to discover all that these databases have to offer.

Here are some of our most popular eBook collections:

OverDrive

Screenshot of OverDrive homepage.

OverDrive contains thousands of popular fiction and nonfiction audiobooks and eBooks. The titles in this collection include bestsellers and award winners. Check out the books using your Bentley email address and password for up to 21 days. You can read or listen on your computer or take the books with you on the go by downloading the Libby or OverDrive apps to your mobile device. Visit our OverDrive guide for more information.

Ebook Central (ProQuest)

ProQuest Ebook Central homepage screenshot including main search box.

Ebook Central from ProQuest contains academic and scholarly titles in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Books in this collection can be read directly in your browser — no checkout necessary! Some books in this collection allow unlimited access or may only allow 1-3 users to read a title at a time.

eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)

Screengrab of eBook Collection Highlights browsing menu with recent collection additions.

Books from EBSCO’s eBook Collection are read in your browser. Search the collection for books in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Each book will let you know how many users can access a book at the same time (1, 3, or unlimited users).

Books 24×7 (Skillport)

Screenshot of the Books24x7/Skillport homepage.

If you’re looking for books related to business and IT, check out our Books 24×7 collection, a part of the Skillport platform. Topics covered include management, finance, wellness, and productivity. Software guides are also available in this collection for applications such as SAS and SPSS. In addition to books, the Skillport platform also provides educational videos. Books can be read directly on the Skillport platform.

Safari Books Online: Tech Books

Screenshot of the homepage of the O'Reilly platform, host of the Safari Tech Books.

Part of the O’Reilly platform, Safari Books are a valuable resource for anyone interested in technology and business. Find guides for various software and applications on this platform.

View the full list of databases that contain eBooks for more information.

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to useful library databases, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of these resources for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.

Staff Picks: E-books & Digital Audiobooks

Kimberly
Click to browse Staff Picks on OverDrive

One of the questions librarians hear a lot is, “What should I read next?” We all read book reviews but know that our best advice happens when we actually have read the book from cover to cover. I put the call out and the Library Staff responded with the following recommendations from our Overdrive Collection.

Ebook recommendations:

Audiobook recommendations:

If you would like a recommendation, tailored to your specific reading tastes, reach out to us and identify a few titles, authors or genres you enjoy and we will be happy to recommend similar titles to explore. If you think we are missing something, please suggest a purchase.

Happy reading.

So Many E-books and So Little Time

Dominique

We’ve been lavished with rich lists of e-books and suggestions for online reading from every corner in recent weeks–it’s heavenly, and our virtual bookshelves are bursting. Who knew so many libraries had so much to offer? Where to begin?

But, we are human. Like the sayings go, “So many books, so little time” and the “eyes are bigger than the stomach.”

Nancy Pearl rule of 50

This makes now the perfect time to invoke the Nancy Pearl rule of 50. Nancy Pearl has given readers wonderful options with her Rule:

  • If a reader is under 50 years old, then consume 50 pages before dropping a book.
  • If a reader is over 50 years old, take the number 100, subtract your age, and this is the number of pages to read before switching to the next book. 

For example, a grandmother who is 86 years old has only to read 14 pages because 100 – 86 = 14. This means if grandma does not like a book and she has read 15 pages, she can nuke the book without guilt. 

With this there is very limited math involved.

One caveat… Sorry but the Rule of 50 applies to books for leisure and not assigned readings.

Nancy Pearl is a renowned librarian from Seattle who believes a person’s obligation to finish a book is not cast in stone, and she came up with the Rule of 50 for dropping a bad book after she had been asked many times for some kind of formula. Thank you, Nancy.

Nancy Pearl action figure, taking appropriate precautions with a DIY mask.

Database of the Month: OverDrive

Kimberly

Read for Free from a Phone, Tablet or Laptop through the Bentley Library

December is a great time to highlight the Library’s OverDrive Collection. As you pack up to go home for the holidays, remember the OverDrive downloadable collection is available for you to enjoy on break, anywhere, 24×7 on any device.

This collection includes thousands of fiction and nonfiction titles including many bestsellers and award winners.

Simply click into OverDrive to view our newest additions or to browse the ebook and audiobook collections by subject, format or genre.  You may browse the available titles without logging in. You only need to log in when you decide to borrow a title.

Some features of OverDrive:

  • This service is free to you with your Bentley e-mail address and network password.
  • All titles will automatically expire at the end of the lending period which is 21 days. There are no late fees and if your time runs out, you can just borrow it again.
  • If a title is checked out, place a hold and you are e-mailed when the title is available.
  • For titles with multiple holds, the Library will purchase additional copies decreasing wait times.
  • The plus sign under a title adds to the title to your personal wish list and you can use your wish list to pull up available content when you have the free time to enjoy it.
  • Curated lists, available from the OverDrive homepage, include: Great American Reads, Newest Additions, Most Popular, Try Something Different, Banned & Challenged Books, and Presidential Biographies. Just scroll the main screen to view these curated lists.
  • Each title is selected and added to the collection by your Bentley Librarians, and new titles are added each month.
  • Bentley students, faculty & staff can suggest titles for purchase using the Suggest a Purchase form.

To get started enjoying ebooks & audiobooks on your device visit Getting Started with OverDrive.

If you need help with this service, help is always available at the Reference Desk and there is a special Overdrive Winter Break Reading session scheduled from 11 to noon on Reading Day in Group Study Room 102. Just bring your device and we’ll get you set up.

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Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to a useful website or Library resource, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of this resource for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.

Learn About Downloadable Books at Our OverDrive Clinics

Kimberly

overdriveclinicHave you checked out our OverDrive collection recently?  We’ve been busy adding downloadable ebooks and audiobooks – including current bestsellers Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee, The Widow by Fiona Barton, Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg and perennial favorites by authors like J.R.R. Tolkien, Bill Bryson and John Irving, and classics by Jane Austen and Bram Stoker.

Simply click into OverDrive to view our Newest Additions or to browse the ebook and audiobook collections by genre or check out the Getting Started Guide.

If you haven’t already set-up your laptop, Kindle, iPad, NOOK, smartphone or other device, we’d love to help you get started. We are holding two drop-in clinics this week to answer questions about Overdrive:

OverDrive Downloadable Books Clinics

Tuesday, April 12
2:30PM – 3:30PM
and
Thursday, April 14
4:30PM – 5:30PM

No RSVP is required – just come to our classroom (lower level, room 11) and we’ll be there to lend you a helping hand! If you bring your device with you, we can help you with the initial set-up or troubleshoot any problems you’ve been having. We hope to see you there.

All About Data: Big & Small

Kimberly

dataposter

On display, from November 17, 2015 to January 4, 2016, at the Bentley Library is an interdisciplinary collection of books highlighting research about data. Included are popular and scholarly works about collecting it, obtaining it, analyzing it, evaluating it and finally accounting for it.

Visit the library and browse through the physical display located in front of The McGladrey Art Gallery or view the contents of the display online. If you see something online you would like, just request it through the library catalog, and you will be notified when the item is available on the hold shelf for you.

Many of the titles in this collection are also available electronically through Books 24×7.com and Overdrive Downloadable Books.

To highlight a few:

Books 24×7.com:
(Of note: Multiple users can view the same content at the same time.)

Overdrive Downloadable Books:
(Of note: Downloadable content is checked out to one user at a time.)

We hope that you enjoy this display. If you notice we are missing a title on this topic, please feel free to suggest a purchase.