Introduction to EBSCOhost E-Books

Access to thousands of e-books! Available 24/7!

Getting Started!

Accessing EBSCOhost E-Books

Create a My EBSCOhost account folder if you don't already have one.

Connect to the college network or wifi using your username and password and open a browser

Go to www.portagecollege.ca

Click the Library – Learning Commons icon

EBSCOhost E-Books

Click on the Online Books link

Click on the EBSCO eBook Collection link

Off campus, type in username: firstname.lastname; password: last 4 digits of student or staff id

EBSCOhost E-Books Home Page

Sign In/Create Account

Sign In Create Account

Click Create a new account and fill in form Click Save Changes when you are done

Put in user name and password and click Login (make sure Load Preferences is always checked)

Put in user name and password and click Login (make sure Load Preferences is always checked)

Account Features

Save preferencesOrganize your research with foldersView others foldersShare your folder with othersSave and retrieve your search historyCreate email alerts and RSS feeds

Using Folders

Creating Folders

Click the Folder icon on the top toolbar

When My Folder is displayed, click the New link to the right of the My Custom link

The Create New Folder screen displays

If applicable, move folder to desired level

Enter a name for the folder and click Save button

Renaming and Deleting

Renaming a Folder Deleting a folder

Click the Folder icon then click on the folder that you want to rename

In the Folder Name field, enter the new name for the folder

Click Save

Click the Folder icon then click the plus sign next to the folder that you want to delete

Click the Edit link below the folder name

Click the Delete Folder button. Select Yes

Searching

Basic Search

Keyword: Enter your search terms in the Find field and click the Search button

The field can also be changed to author, title, etc. if you want to do a more specific search

Browse by Category by selecting a category from the column on the left

Advanced Search

Other search options, including:Search modes

◦Boolean/phrase: uses boolean operators (and, or, not) and exact phrases

◦AUTO And and Or to find all search terms◦SmartText searching: copy and paste chunks of

text)Limit results (e.g., Full text)Special limiters

Results list

After completing your search, a results list will display

Click the e-book Full Text link to read the book in the eBook Viewer tool

Click the Download (Offline) link to check out the book and read it on your computer using Adobe Digital Editions*

Click the Table of Contents link to view the chapters of an e-book

Detailed Record

Viewed by clicking an e-book title in the Results list

Left column: Read or Download e-book

Right column: Tools (print, email, save, or export the record, as well as add the details about the e-book to your folder)

Useful Tools

Add to Folder

Create notes

Print

Email

Cite

Save e-books to folder for future reference. Click Folder icon (top menu) to access your folders and saved e-books, articles, etc.

Add notes to an e-book (sign in to store notes in your folder)

Print (limited by no. of pages)

Email (limited by no. of pages)

Auto generated citations, including APA and MLA

eBook Viewer

E-books can be read online in the eBook Viewer by clicking the eBook Full Text link on the Results list or Detailed Record

eBook Viewer Toolbar

Full screen viewFit page widthFit pageZoom outZoom in

Extra tools:◦ Search within◦ Bookmark and

annotate◦ Dictionary

Downloading E-Books

Getting Started!

Adobe ID

Create an Adobe ID if you don't already have one.

• You will need an Adobe ID to download EBSCOhost e-books

• Go to https://www.adobe.com/account/sign-in.adobedotcom.html, and click Don't have an Adobe ID?

• Fill in the form and click Create

Adobe Digital Editions

Download Adobe Digital Editions onto your personal computer or laptop.

• Go to the Adobe Digital Editions download page: http://www.adobe.com/products/digital-editions/download.html

• Download either the MacIntosh or the Windows version

• Save the .exe (executable) file, and then “run” it

Bluefire Reader

Download Bluefire Reader app to your mobile device.•Go to the App Store on your device and search for Bluefire Reader•Download the app•Authorize the app with your Adobe ID

Accessing EBSCOhost E-Books

Using your device, connect to the college wireless (if on campus) with your username and password

Open your browser Go to www.portagecollege.ca Click the Library icon Click Online Books on the left-

hand side menu Click EBSCO eBook Collection

(if off campus, you’ll need to authenticate)

Click the link for Full site On the top toolbar, click on Sign

In and sign in using your username and password

Do a search

Downloading an E-Book

Click on title you want to Download (some titles are not available to Download due to restrictions)

On the left hand side menu, click on Download This E-Book (Offline)

Checking out an E-Book

When checkout window appears, click Checkout & Download

Click Open in... and then choose the Bluefire Reader icon

The e-book will download to the reader, and you will be given the option of Read Later or Read Now

When the checkout expires, you can delete the e-book by clicking on the arrow next to the title on the Library screen and then click the Delete button

Help!

Check out the excellent EBSCOhost tutorials and help files by clicking Help!

Don’t forget Library staff are always available for all of your research needs!

Questions?