One of our most common ebook sources is ebrary (which is now owned by ProQuest).  ebrary has just come out with an updated interface after several years of ‘the same old thing,’ and two immediate advantages are, first, (to quote Etta James) At Last! we can read the content by scrolling smoothly through many pages rather than having to use the arrow icons in the menu bar to go back and forth one page at a time!  And second, the only search box in sight searches in the ebook you’re reading; there were two search boxes in the old version and the most prominent search box could get you lost very fast because it searched everything in ebrary rather than just your ebook.

For more search functions, there’s now a search menu at the top of the interface.  The content now appears on the right with the table of contents on the left, and you can still have a user account where you can select your own ‘bookshelf’ of titles and keep notes on the content.  The various functions, such as magnifying the text, seem to work more smoothly than in the older version.  All in all, using the new ebrary interface is a much more pleasant experience than the older version.  By the way, while our titles are available for online reading, they won’t download unless we’ve got a multiple-user license for them; that’s why you’ll often see a ‘Not Available for Download’ message.

I’ve been looking at the Encyclopedia of the Mexican-American War while writing this; going somewhat beyond Mexico, here’s another ebrary example that’s worth searching for in the catalog or QuickSearch:

Atlas of the Galilean Satellites

After the introductory chapters, there’s a fine moon-by-moon display of maps and photographs for Calisto, Ganymede, Europa, and Io.  Enjoy!

Exactly 100 years ago today, the Battle of Tannenberg (August 26 – August 30, 1914) began, marking the first great clash between the armies of Imperial Germany and Tsarist Russia.

The First World War, whose centennial we mark this year, was a series of cataclysmic events which continue to shape the world we live in today.

If you are interested in finding out more concerning the causes and consequences of the calamitous events of 1914-1918, your Consortium Library has the resources and skilled researchers to assist you.

Contact a reference librarian and get started.

ARLIS is the “Mother Lode of Alaska Resources Information” and has collections you won’t find anywhere else.  Many of these can be discovered through its Hidden Collections Guide which describes resources that you can use with finding aids and assistance from ARLIS librarians.  Whether you’re interested in geology, education, art, environmental studies, climate change, anthropology, the 1964 Alaska earthquake, or the proposed Pebble Mine and more, click on the link below to learn about treasures available to you through ARLIS.

http://www.arlis.org/category/collection-spotlight/

Your class requires a $100 textbook. You go to the library to see if they have a copy but you learn that the Library does not purchase textbooks due to the frequent changes in editions.

What should you do? Luckily, we have some options for you:

1) Check with the circulation desk to see if the book was put on reserve for your class. Make sure you give the people at the desk the course name and/or instructor last name. Or you can check yourself by going to the Library Catalog and looking for the course by instructor name, course ID or title.

2) Rent a textbook through the UAA Campus Bookstore or purchase a used copy.

3) Try one of the websites listed in our Textbook guide to rent, download, purchase, or try an open textbook.

… especially if you are trying to describe or teach someone how to do a scientific experiment.  No worries.  JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments, can help.

Begun in 2006, JoVE is the world’s first peer reviewed scientific video journal dedicated to publishing scientific research in a visual format.  Thousands of video articles from top research institutions worldwide have been published in JoVE.

You’ll find JoVE in the list of journals available through the Consortium Library.  Have a look!