New Books and Media Received (February 2025)

The following books (49 items) were received into the Library collection for both the Welshimer and Seminary Libraries through budgeted funds and expense accounts and by donation in February 2025.

Individual Ebooks

Anti-Semitism before the Holocaust

Called beyond our selves: vocation and the common good

Seminary Library

Lending
African Christian theology:  journal of the association for Christian theological, v. 1, no. 1

African Christian theology:  journal of the association for Christian theological, v. 1, no. 2

Behind the scenes of the New Testament: cultural, social, and historical contexts 

Comfort in the ashes:  explorations in the book of Job to support trauma survivors 

Ephesians:  a pastoral and contextual commentary by Brian C. Wintle and Ken Gnanakan

How ableism fuels racism:  dismantling the hierarchy of bodies in the church 

Hymnes, t. 1 by Romanus

Hymnes, t. 4 by Romanus

Hymnes, t. 5 by Romanus

Hymns of repentance by Romanus

Turning points in American church history:  how pivotal events shaped a nation and a faith 

Walking with God through the valley:  recovering the purpose of biblical lament 

Welshimer Library

Lending
The art of the literary poster: the Leonard A Lauder Collection

Bad Chaucer: the great poet’s greatest mistakes in the Canterbury Tales

Becoming Foucault: the Poitiers years

The Cambridge history of European Romantic literature

Counterfeit countess: the jewish woman who rescued thousands of poles during the holocaust

Emoji and social media paralanguage

England’s insular imagining: the Elizabethan erasure of Scotland

Falsehoods fly: why misinformation spreads and how to stop it

The fine art of literary fist-fighting: how a bunch of rabble-rousers, outsiders, and ne’er-do-wells concocted creative nonfiction

The force of truth: critique, genealogy, and truth-telling in Michel Foucault

I dread the thought of the place: the Battle of Antietam and the end of the Maryland Campaign

The inner Civil War: northern intellectuals and the crisis of the Union

Jazz and American culture by Michael Borshuk

King : a life by Jonathan Eig

Kingdom of characters: the language revolution that made China modern

A learning community built on strengths: inspiring educators to positively impact student lives

Lost literacies: experiments in the nineteenth-century US comic strip

The lost princess: women writers and the history of classic fairy tales

MacIntyre’s After Virtue at 40

No Right to an Honest Living (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize): The Struggles of Boston’s Black Workers: The Struggles of Boston’s Black Workers in the Civil War Era

The Oxford handbook of World War II

The pleasures of memory in Shakespeare’s sonnets

Politics and literature at the dawn of World War II

Power, image, and memory: historical subjects in art

The presidency and the American State: leadership and decision making in the Adams, Grant, and Taft administrations

The private Civil War: popular thought during the sectional conflict

Social work and the grand challenge to eliminate racism: concepts, theory, and evidence based approaches

Theorizing Stephen King by Michael Blouin

The understory: an invitation to rootedness and resilience from the forest floor

The undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

What works in community news: media startups, news deserts, and the future of the fourth estate

Why we vote by Owen M. Fiss

Writing on the social network: digital literacy practices in social media’s first decade

Archives
Beyond the texts: an archaeological portrait of ancient Israel and Judah by William G. Dever

My nine lives: sixty years in Israeli and biblical archaeology by William G. Dever

Introducing Internet Archive’s Open Library


As part of our mission to enhance discovery of and access to useful and relevant information resources for students and faculty, Milligan Libraries is pleased to now offer an embedded search interface on our website to Internet Archive’s Open Library project.

Started in 1996 with the mission to “provide Universal Access to All Knowledge,” Internet Archive is a non-profit digital repository of internet sites and other cultural artifacts, including books and texts, video, audio, software, and images. The Open Library project focuses on books and includes two primary components: an ambitious goal to build a universal online catalog of every book ever published, and providing a platform for searching and accessing millions of book holdings within Internet Archive. By linking to Open Library, Milligan Libraries instantly expands access to a vast array of book resources for our users.

Book holdings are added to Internet Archive through the digitization of print originals from library partner collections and donations. Book holdings include popular and academic titles on numerous subjects. Of particular interest, in addition to titles in the public domain (books whose copyright has expired and are freely available to the public), Internet Archive also digitizes and provides access to more recent titles that are still under copyright. (Internet Archive currently holds well over two million digitized books. Over one million of these have been published since 2000.) This access is made possible using a framework known as controlled digital lending (CDL).

For digital lending purposes operating within the legal limits of copyright fair use, CDL conceptualizes a digitized copy of a print book owned by Internet Archive (or its library partners) as if it were a physical print book. If Internet Archive owns one print copy of a book it can lend one digitized copy. While the digital copy is lent out the print copy is not circulated. Similarly, if Internet Archive owns 10 print copies of a book, it can lend up to 10 digital copies of that book at one time. Copy protection (known as Digital Rights Management, or DRM) is applied to the digital copies to prevent duplication and control borrowing by authorized users on the Open Library platform.

Getting Ready to Use Open Library

We have added an Open Library tab to the search box widget on the Milligan Libraries website homepage. (You can also select the “Internet Archive’s Open Library” link from the Resources > Specialized Resources A-L dropdown menu to go directly to Open Library.)

Before walking through a search session on Open Library there are a few setup steps to get out of the way first.

Step 1. Create a User Account. You can search the Open Library universal catalog and read public domain books using the online web browser viewer without creating a user account. However, a user account is required if you want to borrow CDL books through the online viewer, or download books to your computer or mobile device. Think of the user account as your Open Library library card. To create a user account, click on the “Sign Up” button at the top right of any Open Library page and fill out the form (click on screenshot to enlarge):

Step 2. Create an Adobe ID. As mentioned above, CDL book files (typically formatted as PDF or EPUB) on Open Library are copy protected to prevent duplication and control lending of copyrighted content. Internet Archive authenticates DRM-ed content using Adobe ID. Create an Adobe ID by signing-in here.

Step 3. Download Adobe Digital Editions and/or Bluefire Reader book reading software. You can bypass Step 2 and this step if you simply want to read books online using Internet Archive’s own web browser reader. However, dedicated software is required if you want to be able to download and read books offline. Books borrowed from Open Library are only readable on a computer or mobile device that supports Adobe ID authentication. Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) for Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS can be freely downloaded from here. An excellent alternative, Bluefire Reader for Android or iOS, can be freely downloaded from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. ADE and Bluefire Reader are configurable to pre-authenticate with your Adobe ID.

Searching for Books on Open Library

I have been doing some research on the sixth century Roman statesman and scholar Cassiodorus. I wonder what books by or about Cassiodorus might be available on Open Library. I type “Cassiodorus” in the Open Library search box on the Milligan Libraries website homepage.

My search resolves to this results page (click on screenshot to enlarge):

At the top I see my search resulted in 183 hits. I also notice a list of facets in the far right column for ways to limit my search results in various ways (Author, Subjects, People, Times, etc.). To the right of each short result record I see large buttons variously labeled “Not in Library,” “Read,” and “Borrow.” The “Read” and “Borrow” buttons also have a headphone icon that slides over to enable a “Listen” (text to speech) option for print disabled users.

“Not in Library” indicates that a record has been created for this book as part of the universal online catalog, but a copy (or copies) of this book is not currently available on Open Library to be read or borrowed. Of interest, if I open this record, it includes a link to preview the contents of the book, and a link that pushes to the book record in Milligan Libraries’ WorldCat Discovery platform. These are very useful features. The book preview enables me to get a sense of the value of this title for my research, and pushing me into WorldCat sets up an option for me to initiate an interlibrary loan request.

“Read” indicates that the book is available on Open Library as a public domain title. Since copyright has expired on this title, absolutely no restrictions on access are imposed. The book can be freely read or downloaded without a user account.

“Borrow” indicates that at least one digital copy of the book is available on Open Library. But since this title is still under copyright, access is controlled under the controlled digital lending (CDL) framework described above. A user account is required to read or download the book. Incidentally, if all available copies of a book are currently borrowed the button changes to “Checked Out” or “Join Waitlist,” which gives me the opportunity to borrow the book once a copy is returned and made available again.

The default view shows “Everything” that resulted from my search (in this case 183 hits). However, if I click the “Ebooks” radio button at the right of the search box, Open Library only shows me a list of books that are actually available on the platform to be read or borrowed, as in this screenshot — 22 hits (click to enlarge):

Reading an Open Library Book Using the Online Web Browser Viewer

As I scroll down the list of books available to read or borrow on Open Library I see the title of a book written by Cassiodorus that I would like to read, Institutions of Divine and Secular Learning.

I click on the “Borrow” button. Since I am not currently signed-in with my Open Library user account I am prompted to enter my credentials:

Once I click the “Log In” button, the book is launched in Internet Archive’s online web browser viewer (click on screenshot to enlarge). An active internet connection is required in order to use the browser viewer for online reading:

I use the navigation slider or page turning arrows at the bottom of the screen to work my way through the book. Alternatively, I can choose a single page vertical scroll reading option. There is also a grid view for page picking, zoom in or out, full screen toggle, and text to speech audio reader.

The magnifying glass icon at the top left is for searching within the text of the book, and the ellipses icon (…) slides out to offer bookmarking, visual adjustments, sharing, and file download options (more on this in a moment).

The banner at the top of the viewer window indicates book borrowing options, and current borrowing status:

Borrowing options depend on the number of digital copies available for lending on Open Library. If there is just one copy available the book can be borrowed for only one hour at a time. (Note: As long as I continue reading, by page turns or scrolling, I do not have to return the book within the one-hour timeframe.) If Open Library has more than one available copy of a book I can borrow it for either one hour or for 14 days. Up to 10 books can be borrowed at a time. I can keep track of my book loans from my user account page. When I am done reading a borrowed book I can click the “Return now” button, which immediately frees my copy up for someone else to borrow, or I can simply let the loan period timeout on its own.

Download an Open Library Book for Offline Reading

Open Library allows downloading of public domain (“Read”) and available CDL (“Borrow”) digital books to my computer or mobile device (phone or tablet) for offline reading. As indicated in Getting Ready to Use Open Library, Steps 2 and 3 above, this capability requires the creation of an Adobe ID and the downloading and configuration of the appropriate reader software. These steps should be completed before attempting to download book files from Open Library.

I will demonstrate downloading and offline reading using the book I already have open in the online viewer above. I will be reading the book using Adobe Digital Editions. From the ellipses icon (…) I click on the “Downloadable files” option and select between an encrypted PDF or EPUB file. (PDF files retain original book pagination, while text in an EPUB file reflows depending on font size.)

I choose the PDF option, which downloads to my computer as a file labeled URLLink.acsm. You may need to browse or search on your computer or device to locate where downloaded files typically land. Look for a file with a .acsm extension. The advantage of pre-authorizing the reader software with an Adobe ID is readily apparent because launching the .acsm file will immediately launch the book in the reader:

I navigate through the book with single page vertical scrolling. I can adjust the text width or zoom for viewing comfort, and drop bookmarks. When I click on the “Library” button at the top left, Adobe Digital Editions opens a “bookshelf” view where I can see a list of my downloaded books, and time left on my loan. By right-clicking on any title in the “bookshelf” I can return the book or remove it from my library.

This tutorial is intended to help our users get started with Open Library as a remarkable resource for digital books. If we can provide you with specific assistance please do not hesitate to reach out.

Checkout EBSCO eBooks to your mobile device (Android or iOS) for offline reading

EbscoHosticonNOTE: Milligan Libraries is no longer recommending use of this feature. This post is retained for historical purposes only. (08.27.2019)

The Library owns and subscribes to thousands of academic ebooks from EBSCO Publishing. These ebooks are accessible to authorized users from our EBSCOhost eBooks Collections database (select it from the “Resources” dropdown > Databases > “General & Multidisciplinary” on the Library website). They are also indexed for access in the Milligan Libraries Catalog, and will also surface among other search results in MCSearch.

The EBSCOhost platform includes a built-in viewer for reading ebooks online using any modern web browser. In a previous post, I provided instructions for checking out and downloading EBSCO ebooks to your computer for offline reading. As it happens, EBSCO’s ebooks can also be checked out and downloaded to your Android or Apple iOS mobile device (smartphone or tablet) for offline reading.

The following instructions will guide you through the process of checking out and downloading EBSCOhost ebooks to your Android or Apple iOS mobile device. The procedure is a little challenging because it requires that you create two authorization accounts and download an application. However, you shouldn’t have too much trouble if you follow these instructions closely. The first 3 steps only have to be done one time. Feel free to contact a librarian if you need assistance.

Step 1: Get an Adobe ID

EBSCOhost ebooks are copy-protected using Adobe Digital Rights Management (DRM). Consequently, you will need an Adobe ID to authorize your access to the ebooks you download from EBSCOhost. You only have to do this step once.

  • Go to http://www.adobe.com/.
  • Click the “Sign in” link on the top right side of the page.
  • Click the “Get an Adobe ID” link.
  • Fill out the Sign up form then click the “Sign Up” button to complete the registration. The email address you supply will become your Adobe ID. You will also need to create a password during registration. Write down your Adobe ID and Password.

Step 2: Create a My EBSCOhost account

If you are a currently registered Milligan College student, faculty, or staff member you do not need to create an account to view an EBSCOhost ebook online. Simply click the “PDF Full Text” link to launch the ebook viewer in your web browser. (If you are off campus or using a mobile data to access electronic resources on the Milligan Libraries website from your device you will be prompted to login using your Milligan network (e.g., Canvas) credentials.)

If you want to checkout and download an EBSCOhost ebook to your mobile device for offline reading you will need to create a “My EBSCOhost” account. You only have to do this step once.

  • From any EBSCOhost database (including MCSearch) click the “Sign In” link at the top right side of the page.
  • Click the “Create a new Account” link.
  • Fill out the form then click the “Save Changes” button to complete the registration. The user name and password you supply will enable you to login to your My EBSCOhost account and download ebooks to your device. Write down your User Name and Password.

Step 3: Download and setup the Bluefire Reader 

application

  • Launch the Google Play Store application on your Android device, or the App Store application on your Apple iOS device.
  • Search for and download the free Bluefire Reader application to your device.
  • Launch the Bluefire Reader application.
  • Tap on the “Info” button from the bottom row of icons (the location of the “Info” button may be different on your specific device), on the next screen tap on the “Authorize” button. Enter your Adobe ID and Password (from Step 1) then tap “Authorize”. Your device is now authorized to download EBSCOhost ebooks on your mobile device. You only have to do this step once.

 The setup is complete. Let’s download an ebook now!

Step 4: Checkout and download an EBSCOhost ebook

NOTE: These instructions apply only to ebooks in EBSCOhost eBook Collections (Milligan Libraries also provide ebooks from other publishers. Those ebooks cannot be downloaded to your device using these instructions).

ebsco3a) Launch the web browser on your mobile device. Browse to the EBSCOhost eBooks Collections database on the Milligan Libraries website (select it from the “Resources” dropdown > Databases > “General & Multidisciplinary”). EBSCOhost eBooks are also indexed for access in the Milligan Library Catalog, and will surface among other search results in MCSearch. (If you are off campus or using a mobile data to access electronic resources on the Milligan Libraries website from your device you will be prompted to login using your Milligan network (e.g., Canvas) credentials.)

ebsco4b) Search (for example) for the book entitled From Plato to Platonism by Lloyd P. Gerson. Click the title link on the search result. This takes you to the book’s record screen.

c) On the record screen tap the “Download (Offline)” button. This takes you to the Sign In screen where you enter the My EBSCOhost account User Name and Password (from Step 2 above). Tap the “Login” button. After the login is accepted you see a “Download This eBook” screen. Select the Checkout Period (most can be checked out for as long as 30 days) and then tap the “Checkout & Download” button.

ebsco6d) You should next see a screen indicating that the ebook has been successfully checked out, and the download process has begun. Assuming you have earlier downloaded and authorized Bluefire Reader (Step 3 above) the app should launch automatically. When the download is complete tap “Read Now” to open the book.

ebsco9e) If you tap anywhere in the middle of the screen you are presented with various navigation and settings controls. From here you can also access the “Bookshelf” to see and open other titles that you may have previously downloaded. The bookshelf also keeps track of how many days remain in the checkout period. The title will cease to be accessible for reading once the checkout period expires. eBook files can be deleted from your device at any time.

Checkout EBSCO eBooks to your computer for offline reading

EbscoHosticonInstructions updated 06.10.2020

Milligan Libraries owns and subscribes to thousands of academic ebooks from EBSCO Publishing. These ebooks are accessible to authorized users from our EBSCOhost eBooks Collections database (select it from the “Resources” dropdown > Databases > “General & Multidisciplinary” on the Library website). They are also indexed for access in the Milligan Library Catalog, and will surface among other search results in Milligan OneSearch.

The EBSCOhost platform includes a built-in viewer for reading ebooks online using any modern web browser. However, most of EBSCO’s ebooks can also be checked out and downloaded to your computer to be read at leisure offline. Downloadable titles are indicated wherever you see a “Download” button at the top right side of the online viewer:

download2

The following instructions will guide you through the process of checking out and downloading EBSCOhost ebooks to your computer. The procedure is a little challenging at first because it requires that you create two authorization accounts and download a piece of software. However, you shouldn’t have too much trouble if you follow these instructions closely. The first 3 steps only have to be done one time. Feel free to contact a librarian if you need assistance.

Step 1: Get an Adobe ID

EBSCOhost ebooks are copy-protected using Adobe Digital Rights Management (DRM). Consequently, you will need an Adobe ID to authorize your access to the ebooks you download from EBSCOhost. You only have to do this step once.

  • Go to http://www.adobe.com/.
  • Click the “Sign in” link on the top right side of the page.
  • Click the “Get an Adobe ID” link.
  • Fill out the Sign up form then click the “Sign Up” button to complete the registration. The email address you supply will become your Adobe ID. Use this, and the password you create to access content in the Adobe Digital Editions application. Write down your Adobe ID and Password.

Step 2: Download Adobe Digital Editions

Download the Adobe Digital Editions reader application from Adobe’s website (Mac OS or Windows versions available). You will need this (free) application to view the ebooks you checkout and download from EBSCO. The process will be smoother if you already have this software on your computer before you attempt the first ebook download. You only have to do this step once.

Launch the Installer and follow the instruction prompts to complete the installation. Once the installation is complete launch Adobe Digital Editions. You will be prompted to enter your Adobe ID and password to authorize your computer. This will also prepare your computer to recognize Adobe Digital Editions as the default application for opening EBSCO ebooks. Here is a screenshot of the open application.

ade

Step 3: Create a My EBSCOhost account

As indicated above, if you are a currently registered Milligan University student, faculty, or staff member you do not need to create an account to view an EBSCOhost ebook online. Simply click the “PDF Full Text” link to launch the ebook viewer in your web browser.

However, if you want to checkout and download an EBSCOhost ebook to your computer for later offline reading in Adobe Digital Editions you will need to create a “My EBSCOhost” account. You only have to do this step once.

  • From any EBSCOhost database (including Milligan OneSearch) click the “Sign In” link at the top right side of the page.
  • Click the “Create a new Account” link.
  • Fill out the form then click the “Save Changes” button to complete the registration. The user name and password you supply will enable you to login to your My EBSCOhost account and download ebooks to your computer. Write down your User Name and Password.

You now have everything you need to download and read EBSCOhost ebooks on your computer. Let’s download an ebook now!

Step 4: Checkout and download an EBSCOhost ebook

NOTE: These instructions apply only to ebooks in EBSCOhost eBook Collections (Milligan Libraries also provides ebooks from other publishers. Those ebooks cannot be downloaded to your computer using these instructions).

a) Launch EBSCOhost eBook Collection from the “Resources” dropdown > Databases > “General & Multidisciplinary” on the Library website and search for a book. As noted above, EBSCOhost ebooks are also included in relevant catalog and Milligan OneSearch search results. I am searching for a book on Alexander the Great. Here’s one that looks interesting:

download3

b) Launch the online ebook viewer by clicking on the “PDF Full Text” link. If the book is downloadable for offline viewing you will see a “Download” button at the top right side of the online viewer in your browser window:

download2

c) When you click the “Download” link you will be prompted to sign-in using your My EBSCOhost account.

alex2

d) Enter your User Name and Password from your My EBSCOhost account (see Step 3) and click the “Login” button. (If you are using a personal computer you may choose to have your web browser “remember” your credentials so you don’t have to re-type this information in the future.)

alex3

e) Once you are logged into My EBSCOhost, a “Download This eBook” dialog box for the ebook you have selected will pop up. If the ebook is available for checkout, select the Checkout Period (this particular title can only be checked out for a maximum of 7 days, although most can be checked out for as long as 30 days) and click the “Checkout & Download” button. Notice the download dialog box informs you that you need to have Adobe Digital Editions on your computer in order to view the downloaded book (see Step 2).

alex4

f)  If the download is successful you will see this screen:

alex5

At the same time you should see a prompt to save an ACSM (Adobe Content Server Message) file to your computer. For convenience, save the file to your desktop.

alex6 alex7

g) Double click the URLLink.acsm file. This will initiate the downloading of the ebook file to the Adobe Digital Editions reader application. Once the download is complete the ebook will open automatically in Adobe Digital Editions (assuming you previously downloaded the application as instructed in Step 2).

alex10

h) Clicking on the “Library” link takes you to the screen showing all currently downloaded titles:

alex11

i) The title will cease to be accessible for reading once the checkout period expires. However, titles can be “returned” or removed from your Adobe Digital Editions library anytime (by right-clicking on the title icon to bring up the contextual menu).

alex12

Downloadable e-books in EBSCO Academic Collection now with 30-Day checkout period!

In an earlier post, I walked you through the steps for downloading e-books from the Library’s EBSCOhost eBook Collections to your computer for offline reading. You will recall I pointed out that if the e-book is downloadable you would see this label in the title record:

Download This eBook (Offline)

At the time I first posted these instructions, the download or  “checkout” period of all our EBSCOhost e-books was limited to seven (7) days. I am pleased to report that the checkout period for the downloadable titles in our EBSCOhost Academic eBooks Collection has been extended to 30 days–the same checkout period we provide for our physical lending books. This extended period reduces some of the inconvenience of having to re-download the title after only a week–especially nice if you have also taken the steps to transfer a downloaded e-book to your mobile device of e-reader.

If the e-book you have selected for downloading is available for this 30-day checkout period, you will see this dialog box during the download process:

Please note that this extended checkout applies only to the EBSCOhost Academic eBooks Collection. The Library’s older EBSCOhost eBooks Collection (what some of you may know as our NetLibrary Collection) is still limited to a 7-day checkout. Incidentally, unlike this older collection, the Academic eBooks Collection also supports unlimited simultaneous users. You should never encounter a turn-away for any title you would like to read from this collection.

Please feel free to contact the Library if you have any questions, or if you would like assistance with the download/checkout or transfer to mobile procedure.