eBooks Part VI: Gale Virtual Reference Library

It’s the first one on our eBook list. It contains over 1,700 full-text encyclopedias, reference sources and other eBooks on a wide range of subjects. You may have heard a librarian refer to it as GVRL. That’s the Gale Virtual Reference Library, accessible right here online for a variety of eBook needs. Follow the steps below as we walk you through the process of finding, viewing and downloading a GVRL eBook.

Find an eBook

Once you click into the GVRL collection, you’ll see several eBook covers on display in each of the 17 subject areas from Arts to Technology. Click the left or right arrows on the display shelves to browse through each category’s titles, or click “View All” to see everything that’s available.

To find a more specific book, you can utilize the “Advanced Search” link at the top of the page. But just typing in the search bar can get you what you need quickly. Entering just a few letters or words causes GVRL’s “Search Assist” feature to suggest terms in a drop-down list that might help you, such as correct spellings and common searches. Even if you don’t know how to spell “Phlebotomy,” the Search Assist will likely find it if you type it incorrectly, or if you just type in the first three letters. Click on your intended term and then click the magnifying glass icon to bring up a page of encyclopedia articles on Phlebotomy, a career eBook about Phlebotomy technicians, and many other options.

You can choose to limit your search further with the options on the left sidebar of your results list: search within your results, check the box to search only for eBooks that have images, or select what type of eBook document you’d like to find such as a clinical skill overview or a biography.

Accessing the eBook

Once you’ve selected the document you need, you’ll be taken directly to the section of the book with the information you were searching for, or to the book’s Table of Contents page if you clicked on the eBook title or cover image. From the Table of Contents, you have the option to search within the publication or click on a chapter/section link to jump to another part of the book. Now you’re inside the text, ready to read and utilize all kinds of features that GVRL has to offer.

For example, you can use “article tools” to print pages, e-mail sections, cite the source, translate the text into another language, listen to an audio version of the text or download the document for reading offline or with an eReader device. These options are only visible if you’re in “text” view (the default viewing mode), where the documents show up in one continuous web page and citation information appears in the pink shaded area below the title.

But you can also click the “View as PDF” icon on the top right corner of the screen to read the book pages online like a print book instead of like a web page. You can’t use the article tools in this view, but you can flip through pages easily or type in a specific page number to jump to. There is also a full-screen option (press the Esc key to go back to the original screen) and magnifying tools that let you zoom in and out.

Download the eBook

Individual eBook articles can be downloaded and viewed on an eReader device as PDF documents. Just click the “Download PDF to eReader” link while in “text” view. It may also be possible to download directly to the eReader if it’s plugged into your computer through a USB cord. You can’t download an entire eBook, but you can save multiple articles as PDF files and even e-mail them to yourself or your eReader (the @kindle.com or @free.kindle.com address, for example). Note: eBooks saved as PDF articles are usually considered “personal documents” on your eReader instead of eBook documents.

For more information on downloading multiple PDF articles, view the GVRL video tutorial here.

You can also download MP3 audio files of an entire document by clicking “Listen” and then “Download MP3.” You’ll be able to save the file with a .mp3 extension.

For more information on audio files, view the GVRL video tutorial here.

Citation Tools

For easy bibliographic citations for your eBooks and articles, take advantage of the “Citation Tools” link in the article tools bar. While in “text” view, click “Citation Tools” and select your preferred Citation Format: MLA or APA. View the citation immediately or save/export the citation to use with another software.

A source citation is also included at the bottom of each eBook’s “text” view page.

For more information on GVRL, click the “Help” tab at the top of the GVRL home page or contact any CSN reference librarian for assistance.