In this issue: 1) How to create a virtual bookshelf of your favourite ebooks, and 2) There is more to life than Google!
1) How to create a virtual bookshelf of your favourite ebooks
You may have heard that the Library offers access to hundreds of ebooks through the online service �netLibrary�. �And further, that this collection of ebooks covers a range of subject areas from literature to nursing to physics and more. But have you heard that you can create a convenient list of the ebooks you refer to most often, a �virtual bookshelf� of ebooks?
The �Favorites List� in netLibrary is very useful as it allows you to save a list of ebooks that you refer to often. After you log in to netLibrary you can quickly access one of these ebooks without having to search for it all over again. Here is how to save an ebook to your �Favorites List� in the netLibrary ebook database:
1. To access netLibrary, point your browser to the Library�s Databases web page:
http://www.mohawkc.on.ca/dept/library/brain/intrntdata.htm
and choose �netLibrary� from the list. Enter your login on the right hand side of the screen. (Don�t have a login? You can create one yourself. The login can be any username and password you choose. Select the �Create an Account� link to create your login. Please note that your login needs to be created while accessing netLibrary from on campus. This is because of the security arrangements with the vendor. Once your login has been created, however, you can log in from home or from any computer with an Internet connection.)
2. Once you have logged in, the Advanced Search page will display. Enter your search words.
3. Select an ebook from the results list. The ebook summary page will appear. Below the image of the ebook will be a link: �Add to your My Favorites list�. Select this link. Or, if you would like to browse the contents of the ebook first, select the link �Browse this eBook online.� If, after browsing the ebooks� contents, you would like to add it to your �Favorites List�, select the link �eBook summary� to go back, and then select the link �Add to your My Favorites list.�
4. A confirmation message will then appear: �This eBook has been added to My Favorites�.
5. The next time you log in, you will see several links, one of which will be to �My Favorites�. Simply select this link to display the list. Then, choose the ebook you wish to access from the list.
2.) There�s more to life than Google!
Sure, Google is great�it�s fast and indexes more of the web than most other search engines. But there are certainly other search engines, meta search engines and directories out there that can satisfy your research needs! Every now and then we will feature other search engines you may find of interest in our �There�s more to life than Google!� column on the BRAIN_blog. This week�Vivisimo, the search engine that helps you to sift through gigantic results lists in a single bound!
Vivisimo has a user-friendly interface that helps you to hone in on exactly what you are searching for, using a unique �clustering technology�. The �clustering technology� groups results into subject categories. For example, if we conducted a search on �Amadeus Mozart�, the left frame of the screen separates our results into such categories as �biography� (links to biographies of the famous composer), �Classical Music�, (links to reviews of his music and music files), and �Books�, (links to sites that sell books about Mozart and free online books about Mozart.)
Another user-friendly aspect of Vivisimo is that each result can be viewed in a new window, in a frame (with the subject categories still visible), or in a preview window (a small window within the result list.) This is especially helpful as it provides a quick way to review a site before deciding if you would like to look at it in detail, and you can easily return to your results list (without having to hit the Back button many times!)
Yet another handy feature is that you can narrow your search to only specific web sites such as the Britannica web site, PubMed, CBC, Yahoo news, etc. To do this, simply select a site from the drop-down menu on the search page or go to the Advanced Search page to select more than one site.
Try Vivisimo at: http://vivisimo.com/
