Category Archives: Collections

Coming attractions: Ebook improvements!

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Everyone who works in the Milligan College Library has had the following experience. A student asks for help finding a book, we go over with them to the catalog to search their subject. When scanning the results list, the student finds an item they like. We mention that it is an electronic book. The student sighs and asks if we have a “real” version of the book. By “real” they mean, “Do we have the book in print?” We sigh and try to explain the strong points of an electronic book. But we know in our hearts why students are reluctant to use our collection of electronic books (which now exceeds 73,000 titles–approaching 50% of our entire book collection in all formats!). The interfaces are clunky, require too much clicking, and on-screen readability is poor.

Libraries have been purchasing electronic versions of books for over a decade. While many librarians were aware of user reluctance to use them, libraries continued to buy ebooks because of convenience and other advantages, including attractive pricing. And because libraries continued to purchase ebooks, vendors often felt little pressure to improve their products. NetLibrary, the largest source of ebooks in the Milligan Library collection, has done little to improve their interface in the past 10 years.

The original Kindle ereader from Amazon.com

In 2007 Amazon.com released the Kindle for $399, and the ereader/ebook world as we knew it began to change. This was not the first attempt at an ereader. I remember seeing some Sony products at a library conference over 10 years ago. But they were too expensive, had too few book choices, and were unwieldy. They never caught on. It seems Amazon did their homework and figured out what features people really wanted in an ereader, and the types of books people wanted to read. They had the ability to deliver on both by leveraging their well-developed online book distribution system and massive purchasing power to negotiate Kindle-compatible editions with publishers. Kindles have also continued to drop in price. Amazon just released an ad-supported Kindle for $114, a price that will likely fall to under $100 by Christmas. Amazon has also extended its reach by providing Kindle book reading software applications that work on various computer, smartphone, and tablet devices. I’m not necessarily promoting the Kindle. Its proprietary (closed) file format is especially problematic for use in a library context. But Amazon has probably been the most successful to date in raising the profile of ebooks to the general public by releasing a viable, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive reading device into its hugely popular online marketplace.

Now that an increasing number of library users have experienced the wonders of ereaders, they are even more frustrated by the limitations of ebooks available from academic libraries. They want user-friendly interfaces that work on their ereaders and other mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablet computers). In short, they want the “Kindle experience” when accessing ebooks from the library.

That experience may be getting closer to reality. About a year ago, NetLibrary was purchased by EBSCO. You may already be familiar with this company through the use of its popular library-provided EBSCOhost journal databases—ATLAS, CINAHL, Education Research Complete, Humanities International Complete, PsycINFO, and others. When Milligan librarians learned that NetLibrary was purchased by EBSCO we were hopeful that they would work to make the product more attractive for our users.

Last summer EBSCO began surveying all NetLibrary libraries asking for feedback on ways to improve the interface. Based on the questions EBSCO was asking, the library staff was cautiously optimistic that NetLibrary would finally be getting a much-needed makeover in the right way. We were not disappointed. A new NetLibrary interface will be rolled out over the summer utilizing the EBSCOhost database platform. We have seen previews and demos. While not absolutely perfect, the interface is much improved and easier to navigate. There is built-in note taking, dictionary look-up, citation creation and export, and enhanced printing.

Most exciting, we have learned that EBSCO is developing an app for iPhone/iPad and Android mobile devices that will, via a personal Adobe Digital Editions account, enable NetLibrary ebooks to be downloaded (essentially “checked out”) on to your device for a specified period of time! To accompany these changes, EBSCO is retiring the NetLibrary moniker, and is simply calling the service eBooks on EBSCOhost.

Watch this blog for further updates as this story continues to unfold!

New Books and Media Received (March 2011)

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Much Ado About (Practically) NothingThis month we’d like to feature Much Ado About (Practically) Nothing: A History of the Noble Gases, David E. Fisher. New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2010.

Fisher, a novelist and a scientist, write engagingly and informatively about the noble gases, and their myriad uses in a variety of scientific fields.

The following Books, Musical Scores, and DVDs (259 items) were received into the Library collection through the Acquisitions Budget during March 2011. Check availability of new titles in the Milligan Online Catalog, or come into the Library and browse the New Books Shelf.


1 & 2 Timothy and Titus : 12 studies for individuals and groups / N.T. Wright with Phyllis J. Le Peau. Downers Grove, IL : IVP Connect, 2009. 

1 Corinthians : 13 studies for individuals and groups / N.T. Wright with Dale & Sandy Larsen. Downers Grove, IL : IVP Connect, 2009.

10 lies men believe : the truth about God, women, sex, money, power, and real manhood / by J. Lee Grady. Lake Mary, Fla. : Charisma House, 2011.

A. Jean Ayres : the pioneer behind sensory integration [videorecording]. Torrance, Calif. : Pediatric Therapy Network, 2010.

Abigail Adams / Woody Holton. New York : Free Press, 2009.

Academically adrift : limited learning on college campuses / Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2011.

Actions speak louder / Bari Rolfe.Garden Bay, BC : Charlemagne Press, c2010.

Adversus haereses. English. Selections. Irenaeus on the Christian faith : a condensation of Against heresies / James R. Payton Jr. Eugene, Or. : Pickwick Publications, c2011.

The Africana Bible : reading Israel’s Scriptures from Africa and the African diaspora / Hugh R. Page, Jr., general editor ; Randall C. Bailey … [et al.], associate editors. Minneapolis, MN : Fortress Press, c2010.

Algae / Linda E. Graham, James M. Graham, Lee W. Wilcox. San Francisco : Benjamin Cummings, c2009.

All in the timing : fourteen plays / David Ives. New York : Vintage Books, c1995.

Alone together : how marriage in America is changing / Paul R. Amato … [et al.]. Cambridge, Mass. ; London : Harvard University Press, 2009.

The American sign language phrase book / Lou Fant and Barbara Bernstein Fant ; illustrations by Betty G. Miller. New York : McGraw-Hill, c2008.

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New Books and Media Received (February 2011)

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The following Books, Musical Scores, and DVDs (174 items) were received into the Library collection through the Acquisitions Budget during February 2011. Check availability of new titles in the Milligan Online Catalog, or come into the Library and browse the New Books Shelf.

1 Corinthians / Alan F. Johnson. Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, c2004.

3 uses of the knife : on the nature and purpose of drama / David Mamet. New York : Vintage Books, 2000.

1688 : the first modern revolution / Steve Pincus. New Haven : Yale University Press, c2009.

Accidental empires : how the boys of Silicon Valley make their millions, battle foreign competition, and still can’t get a date / Robert X. Cringely. New York : HarperBusiness, c1996.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom. New York : Bloom’s Literary Criticism, c2010.

Alfred’s basic piano library, Level 2 (3 Volumes) / Willard A. Palmer, Morton Manus, Amanda Vick Lethco. [Van Nuys, CA] : Alfred Pub., 1993-2000.

Alfred’s Basic Piano Prep Course : for the young beginner (3 Volumes) / Willard A. Palmer, Morton manus, Amanda Vick Lethco. Van Nuys, CA : Alfred Pub Co, 1988-

Alfred’s premier piano course : 1A (5 Volumes) / Dennis Alexander,[ et al..]. Van Nuys : Alfred Publishing, c2005-2008.

Alfred’s premier piano course. 1B (4 Volumes) / Dennis Alexander … [ et al.]. Van Nuys, CA : Alfred Pub. Co., c2005-2009.

Alfred’s premier piano course. 2A (4 Volumes) / Dennis Alexander … [ et al.]. Van Nuys : Alfred Pub. Co., c2006.

Apocalypse and allegiance : worship, politics, and devotion in the book of Revelation / J. Nelson Kraybill. Grand Rapids, Mich. : Brazos Press, c2010.

The artist & the scientists : bringing prehistory to life / Peter Trusler, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Thomas H. Rich. Port Melbourne, Vic. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Augustine and the Jews : a Christian defense of Jews and Judaism / Paula Fredriksen. New York : Doubleday, c2008.

Autobahn : a short-play cycle / by Neil LaBute. New York : Faber and Faber, 2005.

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New “Life” for the Library News blog

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Welcome to Milligan Library Life, the new name for the Milligan College Library blog. The name change is the result of a decision to differentiate the way we use various communication and social networking media in the Library.

In addition to a website, the Library maintains a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, targeted email, and this WordPress blog. Up to now, we have tended to view these various mediums as multiple ways of getting a single message out to our user community–namely, letting you know what’s happening in the Library. The more channels of communication we utilize, the greater our exposure. Right?

This is true to a point. But as we live with these online mediums we realize that maybe we have more than one message to share–or at least, we may have more than one way to share our message. Now that Facebook has become nearly ubiquitous in the Milligan College community (as it has practically everywhere else), we have decided to push most of the Library’s news and event-type posts in that direction. We have also found it convenient to utilize Twitter as a quick way to post schedule and informational alerts to Facebook and the Twitter widget on our website home page.

What do we do with the blog? The blog format is not really appropriate for short bursts of news information. We discovered that what looks perfectly appropriate on the Facebook wall appears as a cluttered mess in a blog. The blog format lends itself to longer form articles–and invites reading at a more engaged and leisurely pace.

Of course it takes more time to write in a form that invites reading at a leisurely pace. Do we have the time? Do we have anything worth saying using this format? Would anyone be interested in reading it?

These are legitimate questions. But rather than give up on the blog I encouraged the Library staff to experiment with me with this other form of communication in the way it works best. Enter Milligan Library Life. We are fairly competent and interesting folk who make it our business to stay informed about the rapidly evolving information environment impacting all our lives. I think it would be valuable to have us report and reflect periodically on such things as trends in library and information resource technologies, copyright and intellectual property issues, concerns about online freedom and privacy, etc. We could also tell you about developments in the Library or Archives, offer tutorials for using information resources more effectively, tell you about new books and media added to the Library, or review an interesting book we read or a movie we watched.

So here we go. We won’t have any set publication schedule, but we would hope to have at least one or two new posts per week. I will be functioning as the editor, with other Library staff participating as contributing editors, writing on items of interest from their particular areas of expertise. If you are inclined, we would also welcome your comments as a way of generating a conversation. I think it will be fun!

Gary F. Daught, Director of Library Services

Photography books find new home

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Many of you know that the first floor of the library has reopened–if not, stop by the library and take a look, or check out the photos on our Milligan College Library Facebook page.

In addition to our DVD and VHS collections, the new space now boasts one more circulating collection than it did last week.  We’ve moved our photography lending books (in fact, the entire TR section!) into tall, wide wooden double shelves between the two entrances.  These shelves allow us to display every book spine-out, which makes for much easier browsing and nicer presentation.  We hope you appreciate the difference!

Come on in and take a look, and as always, let us know if you have any questions.