Any Compreh. Online Library Resources?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by rinri, Sep 2, 2004.

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  1. rinri

    rinri New Member

    Currently, I live in Germany and am enrolled in an online course in localization through Austin Community College in the US. Although most resources are supplied by the course instructors in the form of Word/PDF or Powerpoint documents, I would like to conduct further research and cannot find the kind of resources I need at the Austin C.C. library (http://library.austincc.edu/eresources/ebooks.htm). Therefore, I am looking for VIRTUAL/ONLINE libraries or the like with comprehensive e-book and online journal collections. If the library's English-language collection is very extensive, I would even consider paying a subscription fee.
     
  2. anthonym

    anthonym New Member

  3. rinri

    rinri New Member

    World's largest but not large enough, IMHO

    Thanks Anthonym, I am familiar with questia.com. However, I wonder if there are even more extensive collections. I went to Questia and searched a small sample size of 3 bestsellers ("The Da Vinci Code,""My Life," (Clinton's bio.) and an older int'l. bestseller "The Road Less Travelled"). I got results but only other works citing these - no copies of the bestselling books themselves.
     
  4. maranto

    maranto New Member

    For general topics, I usually start with the Internet Public Library:
    http://www.ipl.org/

    For books in the public domain, I like, Project Gutenberg or the On-line Book PAGE:
    http://promo.net/pg/index.html
    http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/

    For history, the Internet History Sourcebook Project is pretty good:
    http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/index.html

    If you need text in the hard sciences, National Academy Press will let you read most of their texts on line (as page images)… this can be handy for looking up specific information or reading a chapter or two, if you have a good internet connection
    http://www.nap.edu/

    If you are looking for recent popular books or modern fiction, you might have a bit more difficulty. I don’t think that the demand is out there yet.

    Good luck.
    Tony Maranto
     
  5. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Most community colleges have reciprocal agreements with State Universities to use their collections, this often includes electronic collections.

    I would first check with a librarian at your host institution as they would most probably have the correct information about resource sharing agreement or consortia to which the college belongs that would allow you access to other institution's holdings.

    Failing that I would check with UTexas Austin. They do have an electronic collection and most probably have an agreement with Austin CC. Check with a librarian, and if possible the head of reference or the systems librarian. They use a proxy authentication system in which you set up your browser to pass the information through an authenticated IP address to you so that you can gain access to otherwise restricted materials. This is a common practice for distance learning students.

    Alternatively you may also borrow from a local library through interlibrary loan. In Germany there may be a small fee perhaps 1/2 an IFLA coupon to 1 IFLA coupon (4 to 8 Euro) to borrow something.

    Your first resource should be your host institution librarian. Be certain you are speaking with a librarian, a profesional with at a minimum of a Masters degree in Library Science. They are through education and experience the best equipped to support you.

    Don't forget that ILL journals and the like are often delivered through email or other electronic means. Just because you are not in town does not mean they can't get the journal article for you.

    Texas does not have a wonderful State library website, I see no mention about electronic resources available statewide. However, Florida where I live does have an extensive electronic collection available to its residents. You may wish to visit the Florida Electronic Library at http://www.flelibrary.org/. You may be required to furnish a Florida library card number. If you really need to use this resource please drop me a note and I'll arrange for a card.

    Good luck with your studies.

    Matthew O'Neil RN MLS
     
  6. rinri

    rinri New Member

    Thank you, mdoneil and maranto, for the good tips.

    Netlibrary
    Here's an interesting concept in the same direction with 45,000 ebook collection. One needs to have an account with a member library. School libraries set up their own individual online collections. I think that would be interesting for large groups of readers (such as students) who want to create a book club.
    http://www.netlibrary.com/Gateway.aspx

    The following site also has some useful links:
    http://www.libraryspot.com/
     

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