Archive for February, 2012

Info on Follett eBooks

Monday, February 27th, 2012

1.       Because a school purchases eBooks and not leases them, there is no subscription fees, no cost to access them and the terms of use cannot change from year to year.  Just pay one time for only the books that you want.   As a librarian, I purchased eBooks from Follett over 5 years ago and now these can be access on more devices and have more features then when I originally bought them.  My former library gets all this, with no other fees since then.

2.    2.    We also have a free online school digital manager called FollettShelf for any school that purchases eBooks from us.  Students can login and access the ebooks from here.  You can also have the MARC records and access them through your library system.

3.       3. We now have over 100,000 eBooks, over 10,000 Unlimited Simultaneously Accessed eBooks and other items.  These can be accessed through our free FollettShelf Online Catalog or through your catalog via a MARC record. 

4.      3.  We have an app for both the iPad and Android.   Any books that you have purchased in the past as well as in the future can utilize this.* Users can move books from being checkout online that can be accessed anywhere to download on the tablet for offline use.

* The rights to the eBooks are determined by the publisher.  The good thing is that these rights are locked in when the eBook is ordered.  Speaking of that, make sure that you look at the title details on Titlewave to see if the rights/ways of access meet your needs.  Here are some comments on these

1.       Full-featured Online Reader: Our Follett Reader with advanced tools, including keyword search, dictionary, note taking, highlighting, and bookmarking (Adobe Flash® 10.0 plug-in required).

Pretty much all books have this.  If students log in with their account on FollettShelf and accesses the book, it will save all their notes, highlights and bookmarks so that when they accessed the book again, they can use these.

2.       Basic Online Reader: HTML Reader with all of the standard features, including keyword search and dictionary.

All books have this.  This is to deal with non-Flash products (iPad and iPhone specifically).  The link to the eBook will check for Flash and if not available will ask if one wants to read it with this non-Flash reader.  When the app comes out for the iPad, this will not be needed.  However, you would still need this on the iPhone. (This too will be addressed in the future.)

3.       Offline Reader: Download our stand-alone Follett Reader with advanced tools, including keyword search, dictionary, note taking, highlighting, and bookmarking (Adobe Flash® 10.0 plug-in required).

Most books have this (USA does not).  If reading offline is a need with the book, make sure this is listed.  A vast majority of users opt for reading online rather than downloading the book to a computer.

4.       Also, when you preview the eBook in Titlewave, please click on the Information button at the top.  This will tell you how much can be printed, copied and if read aloud is an option.   The copying will copy the text but the printing will print exactly how the page appears with graphics.  Even if copying is not available, if you select a section of text and right click to make a note, when you print the note, the selected text will print as well.

5.    4.    Individual titles can be ordered and you have a full preview of each.  We do have bundles of eBooks that is mostly as a help to librarians who want assistance in choosing eBooks and those titles can also be ordered individually.  

Titlewave Tips

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

A few tips for using Titlewave:

1.        To find eBooks or other specific searches, I would use the advance search to pinpoint the items that you need.  For example, if you do find a book that interests you, click on the advance search and put in a Dewey range around that item.

2.       Create as many lists as you want.  Just click on the Want (This only means that you want them on a list.) and add them to a list or create a new list.

3.       Anyone else at your school can have an account and you can share lists between each other.

4.       Up at the top, there are many lists in the banner under Essentials and Literacy Trends (this has eBooks).  Our professional librarians have spent a great deal of time compiling these so you might want to look at them.

5.       If you do look at one of the lists, you can narrow your search by clicking on the Drill Down at the top of the list on the right hand side.

6.       Try to avoid using the back button and use the breadcrumbs.  Browsers can cause issues when you have inputted something previous on one page and you try to go back to the same page.

7.       We also offer a free collection analysis for schools, this is available on the Collection Management link on the right hand side of the website.  Your representative can guide you through this process if you would like to take advantage of this.  In addition, when searching for books, Titlewave will show you if you already have the book in your collection.

Why Choose FollettShelf (Part 2)

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

In addition to managing eBooks online, FollettShelf can also access our audiobooks from Catalist Digital and Lerner Interactive Books as well as quality databases subscriptions (if purchased through Titlewave) such as:

Capstone Interactive Library includes an online collection of up to 450 enhanced digital books and provides reading practice time over the Internet. Each book includes audio that reads the text aloud, and embedded online activities to extend the learning environment.

 PebbleGo, the award winning K-3 database for reading and research, includes PebbleGo Animals and / or PebbleGo Earth and Space. Both databases feature leveled text, read-aloud audio, highlighting, educational games, and videos that support high interest topics for your youngest researchers.

 PowerKids Life Science is an online science resource specifically designed for learners in grades 3 to 6. Comprised of curriculum-correlated content, PowerKids Life Science promotes digital literacy and 21st-century learning skills while offering research, report, and homework help.

 Rourke interactive e-books are all built using state of the art Flash technology. Our books incorporate read along audio and word highlighted text to provide fluency help for students. Many of our titles feature video and animation to improve learning. Rourkes interactive e-books are compatible with Mac’s and PCs and will play through nearly any web browser.

 Teen Health & Wellness provides real life and real answers for teens, 24/7, with credible, trusted information, comprehensive curricular support and self-help tools

 

Why choose FollettShelf?

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

Here are some items about Follett eBooks that set them apart from the rest:

1.    With our eBooks there are no contracts or any need to pay hosting fees.  Our FollettShelf is free so you pay for content only and are not tied to annual hosting fee. Schools also get MARC records so that the eBooks can be accessed through your OPAC.  When you purchase at least one eBook from us, the school gets the FollettShelf.  Some eBooks cost as little as US$1.  (Librarians get a full preview of the book so they can make sure that it is a quality resource.)

2.    Students can return the book early regardless of the circulation time so they can be made available sooner.

3.    Our eBooks have the option to be read/checked out online so you are not stuck on one device to access them.

4.    Our eBooks can be available anywhere.  We do not limit access to personal/nonschool computers/devices.

5.    The librarian can choose which student has access to which eBooks.

6.    Access to our eBooks is controlled by the school on their school FollettShelf.  We do not use Adobe ID that requires students to provide an personal email address to the company which some schools do not approve of.

7.    We also offer unlimited simultaneous accessed eBooks so the many users can access a book at one time.