Library
Ebrary
What is ebrary?
ebrary is a company that provides electronic books to libraries. Bowdoin has licensed ebrary's Academic Complete collection, which contains the full-text of nearly 30,000 titles. ebrary e-books are included in the Bowdoin Library Catalog and will appear in your search results with the phrase [electronic resource] after the title. To see a complete list of ebrary titles, search for the Title "ebrary". If you've done a Subject search, you may limit your results to materials which have the word "ebrary" in the title. Or, simply search by Keyword using "ebrary and [your topic]."
You may also search across the full-text of all ebrary e-books, much like searching full-text articles in JSTOR or Project Muse. To do this go to the ebrary Home page (the link is also available in the dropdown box for indexes and databases). Note that the advanced search includes options for limiting to material types other than books. Bowdoin's access does not include sheet music; all other types of material are available however.
Installing and using the ebrary Reader plugin
In order to view an e-book on screen, you must install the ebrary Reader plugin. The plugin is already installed on public workstations in libraries and computer labs. Use the following table to determine the method you'll need to use to install the plugin.
| PC - Windows |
Mac PowerPC (Powerbook, iBook, Power Mac) |
Mac - Intel (MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro etc) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty |
Download
the software here - (includes detailed instructions) |
Download the software here - (includes detailed instructions) | Download the
software here - NOTE: 1) plugin only works with Safari and 2)
Safari must be run in Rosetta emulation mode* |
| Students |
Download the software here - (includes detailed instructions) | Download the software here - (includes detailed instructions) | Download the software here - NOTE: 1) plugin only works with Safari and 2) Safari must be run in Rosetta emulation mode* |
| Staff |
Use Add/Remove Programs Control Panel (select
Add New Program, then choose Ebrary for Bowdoin) |
Download the software here | Download the software here - NOTE: 1) plugin only works with Safari and 2) Safari must be run in Rosetta emulation mode* |
* To run Safari with Rosetta on Intel Macs:
- Go to Applications/Safari
- Control-Click on Safari and select Get Info from the contextual menu (or
- select Safari and press command-I)
- Check the box under the General section that states "Open using Rosetta"
- Close the Information Window.
Using the ebrary Reader is very intuitive, and similar to Adobe PDF reader. One especially useful tool in ebrary Reader is the Infotools contextual menu which allows you to perform various functions on text you select in an e-book. When you select a word or phrase in the reader, a contextual menu will pop up and allow you to search that word or phrase, in the library catalog (or NExpress/MaineCat) for related materials, in a dictionary for a definition, in an encyclopedia for background information, or in ebrary itself for further references. For full instructions on using the Reader plugin, consult the ebrary help page. If you have further questions, do not hesitate to ask a librarian for assistance.
Printing
Currently you may print up to ten (10) pages at a time, with a forty (40) page print limit per browser session. These limits are imposed by the publishers and by ebrary and cannot be changed.
Creating a personal bookshelf
ebrary includes many advanced features, such as bookmarking, annotations, highlighting, adding books to a personal bookshelf, etc. In order to use these features, you must first create a personal bookshelf in ebrary. To do this, select the Bookshelf tab in the left-hand pane, and choose the link to create a new bookshelf. You may create as many bookshelves as you want. You may share bookshelves (by sharing the username/password). Creating a personal bookshelf is easy and allows you to take full advantage of the ebrary collection.
Faculty may request that an ebrary title be placed on their course reserve list. You may also link directly to an ebrary ebook via Blackboard. Information about how to create these links is available on the Linking to Library Resources page
Further assistance
ebrary provides its own Frequently Asked Questions page, which may answer the question you have. For further assistance or technical assistance with ebrary, contact:
Karl Fattig
Hawthorne-Longfellow Library
725-3027; kfattig@bowdoin.edu
This page created and maintained by Library Web Team. Last update: December 8, 2006.