netLibrary:
2,000
Full Text eBooks and Thousands More to Come!
What is netLibrary?
With over 25,000
titles "in stock," netLibrary
has the most comprehensive collection of recently published electronic
books (eBooks) currently available on the Web. In conjunction with NyLink,
a not-for-profit membership organization providing services to libraries
throughout New York State, the Brooklyn College Library has just purchased
2,000 of these eBooks from netLibrary
and plans to add another 1,500 over the next year. And in addition
to these 2000 copyrighted, scholarly titles, members of the Brooklyn College
community also have Web access to netLibrary's
"Public Collection"
which includes 4,000 public domain titles.
What
is an eBook?
An eBook is an
electronic version of a printed book. They can be viewed online from any
computer connected to the Internet on campus and off campus if you have
established a personal account with netLibrary
(see "How do I read my eBook" below).
What
Titles are in Our Collection?
The 2,000 titles
in the "Library's
Collection" have been carefully chosen to reflect the College's academic
mission. The titles are published by scholarly, association and trade publishers
who have contracted with netLibrary
to provide electronic versions of their print titles. 2,000 titles
may not seem like a lot but remember that the vast majority have
been published in the last 3 years and that their purpose is to enhance
the library's in-house print collection. There are a variety of ways to
to determine what titles are in our eBook collection.
Library's
Home Page: You
can go directly to netLibrary
from our home page by going to Research Resources by title and clicking
on
netLibrary.
You can search the full text or by author, title, keyword or subject. Check
out "power" searching for more advanced searching techniques. If you wish,
you can limit your search to either the library's collection of 2,000 titles
or the public domain titles.
CUNY+:
netLibrary
is providing us with cataloging records for the 2,000 titles we currently
own. The records will be loaded into CUNY+. For book titles expect
to see the words <computer file> after the title and instead of a library
location and call number the title's location will be "Brooklyn Web Resource"
and the call number will be "Access: Brooklyn Web workstations."
If you are logged on to a Web workstation just click on the URL which is
located in the body (usually the first screen) of the cataloging record.
NyLink:
Go to our partner's home page for
a title list arranged by subject area.
|
Click on the logo to the
left to go directly to netLibrary and begin
searching. |
How
do I read My eBook?
Books can be
previewed for a quick browse or "checked-out" for a 4 hour period. Just
like a paper library, if you browse or check-out a title from the library's
collection online no one else can read it. Once the title is sent back
to the "cybershelf" it's available to the next patron. When you are using
netLibrary
on campus remember to create a personal netLibrary
account which identifies you as a member of the Brooklyn College
community. This will enable you to access netLibrary
from home.
What happens if an eBook
is not Available?
When an eBook is checked-out, the system
displays a message indicating when the eBook is expected to be available.
Can I print a Hard Copy
Version of an eBook?
netLibrary
has developed mechanisms for limiting printing of eBooks from the Web.
You can print or copy single pages just as you can photocopy single pages
of a printed book but once the system senses extensive printing it closes
the file.
How will I use netLibrary?
We don't think anyone will actually
sit down and read an entire eBook online (although we could be wrong).
But just as one might pick a print title from the stacks and glance at
the table of contents and/or index to decide if there is relevant information,
one can check the same sources online. If you have a citation to a particular
book or essay, you can check CUNY+ to see if the title is part of our e-collection;
just click on the URL and go directly to the text. Or you may just
want to browse through titles by subject for future reference. Keep
in mind that you can always request that an eBook be purchased in hard
copy for the library's permanent collection.
eBooks and the Future
We believe that this rich resource
of scholarly materials is an interesting enhancement to our considerable
print collection. We are very curious about the creative ways patrons will
use netLibrary so if you do take advantage
of it please feel free to let us know what you think about the eBook experience.
You can e-mail us at: sabbc@cunyvm.cuny.edu |