UNews - e-books

Library boasts impressive e-book count

trevor.kenney — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:38:46 +0000

Did you know that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library has more than 65,000 e-books in the collection? That means there are over 65,000 books that you can access from your laptop or your computer at home, on our Calgary and Edmonton campuses, on vacation, from anywhere, anytime.

The e-book collection covers a wide range of subject areas, including management, education, political science, religious studies, literature, sociology, economics, history, philosophy and more.

Many reference books, such as encyclopedias, handbooks and dictionaries, are also available in e-book format. The library has the most current editions of the Oxford English Dictionary, Encyclopedia Britannica and many other specialized and general reference books available electronically. There are plenty of online alternatives to Wikipedia available from the library catalogue.

In order to locate e-books, you can limit your library catalogue search to "E-book". Some e-books allow for multiple users to view them at one time, while others only allow for a single user. If you are having trouble viewing one, it could be because someone else is using the book. Currently, the library doesn't have the capability for users to check out an e-book from the collection and transfer it to an e-reader.

The library's e-books are provided through several different platforms, such as MyiLibrary, Ebrary or SpringerLink. Most platforms will allow you to download or print about 10 pages or a chapter at a time, and to annotate pages, bookmark pages and save books to a bookshelf. You may need to sign up for your own free account within the platform for full functionality.

There is also a link on the library's website to the Directory of Open Access Books (look under DOAB in databases by title), which is a way to find peer-reviewed and edited open access books available electronically.

Don't hesitate to ask your librarian for more information.

This story first appeared in the November 2012 issue of the Legend. To view the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Digital textbooks and e-books on the rise

trevor.kenney — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:43:48 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Bookstore is looking for feedback from students and faculty in regards to the use of e-books and digital textbooks.

As the publishing world continues to move its products online, the Bookstore is interested in providing less expensive options to students and faculty members. The introduction of more digital textbooks is one way to reduce costs, but only if students and faculty will use the material.

To participate in the survey, students must follow this link, while faculty members must follow this link.

Those who complete the survey are eligible to win a $50 gift certificate to the Bookstore.

For any further any questions or comments about the purpose of this survey, contact Kari Tanaka at tanakl@uleth.ca.

Library turns its eye to helping out environmentally

trevor.kenney — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:30:24 +0000

In addition to the regular 'green' initiatives found elsewhere on campus – such as paper and beverage container recycling and motion-sensor lighting – the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library has recently made some other moves towards environmental sustainability.

Several of these changes come in the form of acquiring e-resources rather than print items. The library is purchasing more e-books to add to its collection; we have also made a decision to move towards e-reference materials, wherever possible. And increasingly, more of our journals are found online rather than in print. All of these digital documents help the environment by not consuming paper and ink, and by using less energy in the production and transportation process. It also helps save library space, as our shelves are getting quite full. Theoretically, we could also be saving commuting costs for those people accessing these resources on their home computers rather than driving to the library to get the physical items.

While the argument might be made that energy is wasted in the production and use of the computers used to access e-resources, chances are that a researcher already owns and is using his or her computer, so the only additional cost to the environment from reading an e-book or journal versus a printed version is the incremental energy used while actually viewing the material.

While there will always be a demand – and a desire – for the printed page, it's nice to know we can soften our environmental footprint somewhat by making electronic alternatives available where appropriate.

As well, the library has also been delivering most of the articles requested via inter-library loan electronically. Links to PDFs are now emailed to the requester rather than a physical copy of the article faxed from the lending library, as they were previously. While recipients may still print the article, chances are not all of them do. (Please note that e-mailed articles are still copyright protected and are provided for requestors' personal research or study only.)

And what happens to the discarded material – those books and journals weeded from our collection due to age, lack of use, or suitability?

Previously, this material was not able to be recycled because of the integration of non-recyclable materials (such as book covers, anti-theft strips, etc). Now, the library has partnered with an organization called Better World Books, which accepts shipments of books (free of charge) and then re-sells them to other organizations.

Not only are we diverting our discards from the landfill, but we are also supporting literacy efforts through our affiliation with this program. Those books that are not sold through this process are disassembled, and the parts that can be are recycled.

These are just some of the ways that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library is attempting to align itself with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Strategic Plan by enhancing the environmental sustainability of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

Library turns its eye to helping out environmentally

trevor.kenney — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:32:58 +0000

And what happens to the discarded material – those books and journals weeded from our collection due to age, lack of use, or suitability?

UNews - e-books

Library boasts impressive e-book count

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Digital textbooks and e-books on the rise

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Library turns its eye to helping out environmentally

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Library turns its eye to helping out environmentally

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