To access the database, click the above link. Currently, eBooks from EBSCO is the only eBook database to which the library subscribes. It includes over 30,000 eBook titles, all of which are available full-text and downloadable.
To find books, you can search directly in the EBSCO search box as you normally would with other EBSCO databases, or you can select "eBooks" in the top navigation bar to browse through the different subjects that are included.
While the titles are available full-text, you'll want to check the licensing terms and permissions for each title before you potentially select it as a course text. To find that information, you have to look at the bottom of the record for the material:
This material has the publisher permissions of printing/emailing/saving of 100 pages. This means that students are able to download up to 100 pages (this is almost always the case). The concurrent user level is unlimited user access, which means that any number of students can view the book at the same time.
Another title might have a permission/concurrent user level that looks like this:
This book has limited user access with only one copy available, which means that only one person can look at the item at a time, including you as a faculty member. This should be a crucial consideration for selection of an eBook as a course textbook.
If you are having any trouble with the interface, feel free to checkout the eBook Support pages. To access, select "eBooks" from the top of the page, and scroll all the way down to the bottom. Select "Learn More" and you will be able to see all of the help pages from EBSCO.
For more in-depth information on linking to eBooks from EBSCO, click here.
Some eBooks are available through the Pearson eBooks integration through Canvas. To explore this, you'll want to open your Canvas site and create a new integration by selecting "Add an External Tool." After you do this, the page will request a sign-in. You can create a sign-in using your Bridgewater email address. Once you've signed in once, you will not need to sign in again.
After you've signed in, you can look at the various eTexts available by searching for the topic you're teaching. When you select a title, there will be a sidebar on the right-hand side which will give you an idea of the cost of the material for the students. These eTexts are generally pretty reasonably priced, so selecting one of these books will lessen the economic strain of the students.
To get a sense of what the book has inside before you select it, read the "Features" section and the "Table of Contents." You will also get a decent biography of the authors so you can know who wrote the book.
To get a better understanding of how the Pearson eTexts work, watch this short video:
Please remember that there are a host open books that are available to you. If you would like to learn more please, visit our page on Open Educational Resources (OER).
There are several places that you can go to find Open Books or Open Educational Resources (they are not the same). Recommended places to search for open books/textbooks and other open materials are below:
Notable is the availability of Course Redesign Grants from the VIVA (Virtual Virginia) Library Consortium, of which Bridgewater is a part. The grants range from $1,000 to $30,000 and are available to faculty members choosing to redesign their course around an Open Educational Resource. For more information on the Course Redesign Grants, click here.
Interested? Search the Open Access titles that are available through VIVA here:
About VIVA Faculty Textbook Portal. The Portal contains over 200,000 titles from VIVA’s shared library collections, open access textbooks, and ebooks available for VIVA to purchase on behalf of public colleges and universities throughout the state. Once you have found a title you can use for your course, please let us know via the Adoption or Request Purchase links!
Questions about Course Redesign Grants? Reach out to Vickie at vmontigaud-green@bridgewater.edu.
If you're unable to find a course text that you like through eBooks from EBSCO or in an open format, you can always request a title for purchase through acquisitions@bridgewater.edu, and we will see if the title you would like to use is available for licensing. As stated above, due to the nature of electronic book licenses, many titles are unavailable for purchase to our library.
