In
this week’s MeL Minute, a Michigan home schooler talks about the information, accessibility, and enjoyment of eBooks available through
MeL's eBook Collections. LM received this MM through Kate Van Auken, director of the White Pine Library Cooperative. It could not be more perfect for right now.
RESEARCH:
As a high school senior, many of my eBook needs are research based. There are so many great resources available through MeL but my go-to is using the eBook collections found online, particularly the eBook Academic Collection. This collection
is made up of over 172,000 titles covering every subject imaginable. This collection is not age specific so titles can include children through adult. I find this very helpful when researching a topic I am interested in teaching, I can locate age appropriate
titles within a subject, all in one place. They even have a citation icon on many of their sources to help with bibliographies!
ACCESSIBILITY:
For me personally, accessibility comes down to physically getting to the public library, something that can be hard to do in rural areas without a driver’s license. MeL’s eBook collections make it possible to access titles without ever
leaving your home. Titles are available instantly as PDF files and as downloads you can use on your laptop computer or mobile devices. The wonderful part about MeL’s ebook collections is that they take equal access for all very seriously. Users who are
visually impaired, non-English speakers, users who are hearing impaired, physically or learning impaired can access titles in formats they can use.
ENJOYMENT:
MeL’s eBook collections are not only for research and fact finding. The
eBook High School Collection includes over 9,800 titles including both fiction and nonfiction. These titles are always available for instant gratification, no waiting for titles to be returned! Many titles also offer
links to more books and videos about the topic you want to read about. My favorite books from the collection are the
Biographies and Memoirs, lots of stories for inspiration and for fun!
There are many great things a high school student can access through
MeL's eBook Collections, I highly recommend checking out the site and seeing everything that they have to offer. A call or visit to your local library can help if you have more questions
about the eBook collections and there is an extensive
help guide online as well!
Brought to you by Pearl Daskam
Senior-Cass City Homeschoolers
Sonya Schryer Norris
Library Consultant
Library of Michigan
Michigan Department of Education
517-335-1498
https://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan
