Discovery exercise #1. I was pleasantly surprised at how many full-text titles (581) NetLibrary carries on a South Dakota history search. I redid my search using quotations around my keywords and that did limit my hits to 42, but still a good number of full-text offerings! A lot of the titles are actually referenced in the South Dakota history magazine, but still relevant to my search.
Exercise #2. I think one of the very best things about NetLibrary is the fact that one can view the entire contents of the book, just as if you were picking it up off the shelf and viewing the table of contents. This is very useful for anyone working on a research project for a class. Even better is that you can search the eContent, eliminating the 'old way' of trying to figure out which chapter might include the info you need, then having to skim the entire chapter. So, for this exercise, I looked at the table of contents of my book choices and liked the subject matter from The ultimate New York body plan. I also like the fact that the author states he's not big into encouraging people to go under the knife to make themselves look better. Work with what God gave you.
Exercise #3. I got 83 hits with my Oklahoma publisher search. Number 41 was The Rapid City Indian school, 1898-1933. Might be worth a glance. Out of curiosity, I went back and added western as a keyword, which narrowed things down to 10. I'm not a person to read an entire book online. In fact, some of the titles I ran across in these exercises prompted me to find the physical book to check out. However, for research, quick info, and for those who do like to read entire books online, NetLibrary is the ticket.
Bingo, Brenda! You are so right. It's at-your-fingertips research. Searchable ebooks, especially with tables of contents and indices can get you just what you need quickly. I, too, prefer the printed book, but if you can't wait for an interlibrary loan, NetLibrary can be a great help. Thanks for your comments.
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