[This item is based mostly on the St John’s College eBook web page]
From January 2006 over 118 of the books most heavily used by Cambridge students will be available on-line via NetLibrary, a web eContent provider and a division of OCLC (Online Computer Library Center, Inc). This initiative is being developed by College libraries as an alternative response to the demand on heavily used texts, and has been formed in association with NetLibrary, suppliers of ebooks to other major research universities. This project has been made possible by the work of the Ebook Project Team of the Cambridge College Libraries’ Forum (CCLF), and by a generous donation from Professor Robert Z. Aliber, of St John’s College, Professor of International Economics and Finance Emeritus, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
Currently available are 118 eBooks, which are digital full-text versions of reference works, scholarly monographs, literature and fiction. Also there are 3,400 publicly-accessible titles that have come out of copyright including a wide range of literary, fictional and historical texts.
The purpose of the subscription is to:
- maximize access to information for junior members, particularly undergraduates,
- include material from all subjects taught in the Tripos, with special emphasis on the needs of those studying for Part 1,
- augment, but not replace, the Colleges print collections,
- offer flexibility of access.
The titles available can be accessed by two different routes - off campus a Raven password is necessary. [Most staff and students should by now have a Raven password. They are issued by the University Computing Service. For further information see http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/docs/faq/n5.html].
1. By logging on to the NetLibrary site from any computer with a local (ie. cam domain) IP address, or externally using a Raven password. From here it is possible either to search for specific titles, or to view the entire selection by choosing ‘What’s available’ from the top menu, and then ‘List all ebooks’ in the left hand box.
2. By searching for a specific title on the University’s Newton catalogue under Colleges databases A-N and P-W. When the search results are returned they will include a hit with the Library location ‘Electronic book’. Go into this record and then follow the link under the heading ‘Linked resources’. Again usage here is limited to cam domain IP addresses, or access via a Raven password. To see all the titles available you can use “Netlibrary” as a keyword search.
Once a title has been selected it is possible to view the text by following the link ‘View this eBook’. Limits apply to their use: books are available to browse in 15 minute slots, and limited to three users at a time. If you have registered interest in a title but it is unavailable you can opt to receive an email informing you when it becomes available. By setting up a personal account you are able to save a list of ebook titles and to write and save your own notes for specific ebooks.
The current access arrangements are part of a year long pilot project so any feedback or suggestions to the Ebook Project Team about this facility would be gratefully received at ucam-lib-ebooks@lists.cam.ac.uk. An evaluation report will be prepared in Autumn 2006.
The CCLF Ebook Project Team comprises librarians at Trinity College, Queens’ College, Forbes Mellon Library (Clare College), St John’s College, Lucy Cavendish College, and Selwyn College.
Other links:
Project website (Selwyn College eBook web page)
UL eBook introduction
St John’s College eBook web page
Item in current Readers’ Newsletter
Note that texts of out of copyright works are widely available on the web through, for exmaple, the Digital Book Index, Project Gutenberg, and The Online Books Page. Online textbooks are being collated by Textbook Revolution.