A
Celebrity MeL Minute brought to you by Holly Hibner and Mary Kelly of
Awful Library Books
Each year, a Catholic school in the neighborhood partners with the library on a social issue report assignment. Our Teen Librarians go to the school to teach students how to use the library’s e-resources and how to organize
their research. Then the eighth graders come to the library to conduct that research.
MeL’s e-book collections from EBSCOhost are a highlight of this instruction.
When the eighth graders, strong consumers of electronic media, find out they can access e-books from MeL on their mobile devices, they are surprised, they are relieved, and – I dare say – they are impressed. They can do their
homework in their space and their time. Going straight to the middle school e-book collection makes their research on difficult and complicated topics like civil rights, abortion, endangered species, gender identity, etc. age appropriate, authoritative, and
relevant to the context of their assignment.
When patrons of all ages, with any number of interests and information needs, approach librarians, it goes a long way to be able to recommend a resource like the MeL e-book collections. The content is relevant, and the platform
is convenient. I’ve recommended this resource to businesspeople, travelers, consumers, and many, many more.
The MeL e-book collections cover quite a variety of topics. There is truly something for everyone. They are also extremely flexible in how they can be used.
MeL’s EBSCOhost e-books are downloadable in ePub or PDF format. The PDF version is a fixed layout of the print version of the book, and ePub allows the text to be adjusted easily for any device or screen size. With Adobe Digital
Editions (freely downloadable from Adobe.com), e-books are mobile friendly. The ePub format also makes e-books compatible with adaptive technologies, including screen reading software. The table of contents in the e-books links directly to a specific chapter.
You can also read the e-book right in your web browser.
The e-books can be organized and downloaded to Google Drive – or any other file storage. Passages can be highlighted, shared, notes added, emailed, and printed. For researchers and students, there is an automatic citation generator
that can be used in conjunction with popular products like RefWorks, EndNote, or Zotero.
For librarians and teachers, integrating these e-book features should be an essential part of instruction. Regardless of your reading and research interests, these extra features make staying organized easier and can help you
stay focused on your project. Those taking online classes will find the integration of MeL e-books with Google Drive and Google Classroom extremely useful!
Supporting Michigan Libraries by Putting You First.
Want more information on MeL? Stay tuned for the next MeL Minute available on many Michigan library listservs, visit http://mel.org,
or sign up for the MeL Minute and other Library of Michigan e-mail lists via
GovDelivery. We encourage you to share MeL Minutes with your colleagues and networks.
MeL eResources are available to Michigan residents or for Michigan library or school access only.
#IMLSGrant
Sonya Schryer Norris
Library Consultant
Library of Michigan
Michigan Department of Education
517-335-1498
https://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan
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