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Using eBooks: How-To Use

Learn how to use Library Services' eBooks.

Library Services' eBook Collections

About Library Services' eBook Collection

Library Services offers thousands of ebooks that Springfield College students, professors, and staff may access from any device. The vast majority of our ebooks are provided by two vendors, ProQuest Ebook Central and EBSCO. You will encounter ProQuest and EBSCO eBooks most frequently when searching our collection.

This guide will help you know what to expect when you open a book on Ebook Central and EBSCO.

ProQuest Ebook Central eBooks

ProQuest Ebook Central

A screenshot of the ProQuest Ebook Central Interface divided into three numerical sections. Section 1 is the title of the book, located to the right of an image of the ebook cover. Section 2 is located below the title information and includes the Table of Contents. Section 3 is to the left of the Table of Contents and includes two buttons. The top button is labelled 'Read Online' and the bottom button is labelled 'Full Download'.

Sections on the Ebook Central starting page:

  1. The top area offers basic information about the book. You can find further information in the Bibliographic Info box on the right.
  2. The Table of Contents allows you to jump straight to specific sections or chapters in the book.
  3. Use the Read Online button to start reading the book, beginning with the front cover. We recommend reading it online instead of using the Full Download option as the download requires extra steps that your device may not be able to use.

Reading an Ebook Central ebook:

Screenshot of Ebook Central platform labelled with four sections. Section 1 contains the cover art of the ebook in the middle of the page. Section 2 is located in the right side of the book highlights the arrow button to move forward a page. Section 3 shows the full bibliographic details of the book including a search box to search within the book. Section 4 is in the top middle of the page and includes a toolbar of icons to interact with the ebook.

Sections when reading an Ebook Central eBook:

  1. The middle section is the eBook itself. Scroll down to finish the page or to view more pages.
  2. This scroll bar allows you to very quickly zip through the pages of the book. You can also use the left and right arrows just above it to flip back and forward from page to page.
  3. The sidebar you to quickly jump to a specific chapter or section, and also allows you to search within the book. Use the search box to find certain keywords within the book.
  4. The toolbar contains a variety of tools that make the book more useful or easier to read. You can highlight portions of the text, add notes, or zoom in and out as needed.

EBSCO eBooks

The EBSCO starting page:

A screenshot of the EBSCO interface with three areas highlighted. Section 1 is in the middle of the page and contains the bibliographic details of the book. Section 2 contains the Table of Contents and is below the first section. Section 3 is located to the left of the first two sections and contains two buttons, 'PDF Full Text' and 'Download This eBook (Offline)', for reading the book.

Sections on the EBSCO starting page:

  1. The middle section offers some basic information about the book, including the title and publication information.
  2. The Table of Contents area allows you to jump straight to specific sections or chapters in the book.
  3. The PDF Full Text button is how you start reading the book, beginning with the front cover or first page. While you can also download it, we recommend reading it online as the full-text download requires extra steps to read the book.

Reading an Ebsco ebook:

This screenshot of the EBSCO ebook reader is highlighted in three sections. Section 1 is at the bottom middle of the page and shows the arrow buttons to navigate through the book. Section 2 is at the bottom left of the page and contains controls for zooming in and out of the page. Section 3 shows how to scroll down the page to read each page.

Sections when reading an EBSCO eBook:

  1. The arrow buttons allow you to flip pages.
  2. The magnifying glass buttons tools allow you to zoom in and out on the page.
  3. This scrollbar allows you to scroll down the page you're currently on.

Other Library Services eBooks

What other eBooks does Library Services offer?

Library Services' collection includes several types of eBooks aside from the two explained above. These include books published by:

  • Taylor & Francis
  • Elsevier ScienceDirect
  • Wiley

Unlike the database vendors, these eBooks are similar to what you'd see on the website of a journal article.