Spartan library offers online book databases for students.
Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya
The TJ Librarian works hard at improving the way students can access information at the library, and with the help of e-Books – an online database where students are allowed to view books whenever needed – the Spartan library is fully equipped to help students access information.
“Many students don’t realize that they have a database where they can view books, magazines, and articles 24/7 without being at the library,” said TJ Librarian Sudi Stodola. “For example, resource books that they cannot check out from the library can be found online and used at the student’s discretion.” This is something that Stodola has been working on for several years, each year purchasing more books to supply the online database.
To access the e-Books, one must first get to the TJ Library website http://tjhslmc.webs.com/ or go to http://www.tjjournal.com/ and find the TJ Library link. Once at the library page, on the left side there is a page created for the e-Books, where students can find a couple of different online databases where they can access books online. The passwords to enter the databases are given on the page.
“This is an electronic version of the books from the shelves, and the great thing about these online books is that they still count as print book sources when writing research essays for your classes,” said Stodola. “Some of the databases allow you to cite the book source and gives you the MLA format directly; all you have to do is copy and paste it into the essay.” This is a very resourceful tool for those who struggle with finding print sources for the many classes that assign research papers. The e-Books are free for all of the students at TJ.
TJ Senior Stephanie Acree uses the power of the e-Books and the online databases, and admits that this is a very useful tool that all students should use when trying to find print sources for an essay. “It’s very frustrating when you cannot find a proper hard copy book when writing an essay, but the online databases allow me to look at books that I cannot check out or find, and I can look at the books at home whenever I want. It also helps that some of the databases allow me to do MLA,” said Acree.
Another useful thing that comes along with Gale e-Books (one of the many databases) is that it has an App. for iPhones; just another way to read and look up books online. “When teachers approach me about the essays that [their students] are currently writing in class, I try to buy as many books as possible online to satisfy the demand for that specific subject,” said Stodola.
Many teachers agree that this is a great resource that students can take advantage of when writing research papers. TJ Government Teacher Jon Poole recently had his students explore a topic about the weaponry used during the Civil War, and he had his students write about the subject. “It was helpful because every student was able to access the same books at the same time without there being a shortage of books. The fact that they could access the E-Books outside of class allows the students to write essays more easily.”
For more information on e-books contact Stodola at Sudi_stodola@dpsk12.org or see her at the library.
