How to use e-books on mobile devices

Many of the e-books that the University has purchased can be downloaded Android and Apple (iOS) devices including tablets, smartphones, iPads and iPhones, as well as e-readers such as Sony ereader, Kindle and Nook.

Different e-book platforms support different devices. The following information has been adapted from the ebooks@cambridge website http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/ebooks/index.html and blog http://ebookscambridge.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/dawsonera-downloading-arrives/.

Dawsonera

dawsonera ebooks can now be downloaded to Android and Apple (iOS) mobile devices, including tablets, smartphones, iPads and iPhones. Users will be asked to choose from 1 or 2 day downloads. Downloading to Mac computers has also been enabled.

Each dawsonera e-book is available as either PDF or as EPUB file, this depends on the publishers. Instructions for downloading these two file types are different and detailed in the online help guides available from this User Guide webpage.

Click on either Downloading ebooks to an Android device or on Downloading ebooks to iOS for step-by-step instructions. You will need to have registered for an Adobe ID if you haven’t got one already, you can do this from here. You will also need to ensure you have the Bluefire Reader App downloaded onto your device (for reading EPUB files) and the Adobe Reader App (for downloading PDF files).

You can still download dawsonera ebooks to a PC, laptop or memory stick and also to a Mac (although if the default PDF reader is Preview the ebooks won’t open, try installing and using Adobe Reader instead). 

Cambridge Books Online, Cambridge Companions Online, Oxford Scholarship Online, SpringerLink and Wiley

Chapters from these platforms can be downloaded in PDF format to e-readers including the Kindle.

MyiLibrary

Some ebooks from this platform can be downloaded for 3 days to PC, laptop, Sony ereader, Nook, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Android devices, but not Kindle. See Help with downloading from myiLibrary , including a list of downloadable titles, or watch the YouTube video on Downloading MyiLibrary e-books.

Useful guides

The English Faculty Library has produced a document on the pros and cons of using Kindles and a guide to downloading a Cambridge Companion chapter to Kindle.

See the ebooks@cambridge Access instructions for e-books collections guide for detailed help.

Twitter for academic research

Interested in finding out how to use Twitter for academic research?

Have a look at these great prezis, articles, blog posts and guides by academics and library and information professionals from around the UK, as collated by staff at the Judge Institute Information & Library Services here at the University of Cambridge: http://cjbsinfo.posterous.com/twitter-for-academic-research

In particular there is this great guide produced by the LSE, 'Using Twitter in university
research, teaching and
impact activities': http://www2.lse.ac.uk/government/research/resgroups/LSEPublicPolicy/pdf/Twitter_Guide_Sept_2011.pdf. It's based in the social sciences but the main principles and practices apply to all disciplines.

Another really useful resource is the LSE's list of favourite academic tweeters, compiled following a survey. This is the list of STEM tweeters (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics): https://twitter.com/#!/LSEImpactBlog/stem-academic-tweeters/members

Give tweeting a go! You may think you don't have time for it but there are many handy ways of managing your tweets to save you time, and you may find you tap into a whole new world of information and contacts in your field.

Kindle button and mobile device twinning with Cambridge Journals Online

The latest release of Cambridge Journals Online functionality includes new developments for mobile devices. 

Kindle Button

A ‘Send to Kindle’ button is now displayed at article level. When clicked, a box is displayed into which the reader can enter their Kindle email address. CJO http://journals.cambridge.org/action/bySubjectArea?sessionId=7AC3824C91EBBE3F7E842F41E290A061.journals will then send the article to the reader’s Kindle, where it will appear in the home screen when the device is synced. For maximum flexibility, it is recommended that readers send the HTML version of the article wherever possible. For further details see the CJO blog post http://blog.journals.cambridge.org/2012/04/kindle-3-cjo-to-kindle/. 

CJO Mobile (CJOm) device twinning

Readers with access to Cambridge Journals via their institution can now twin their mobile devices with CJOm http://jnls.cup.org/home.do, so that they can access subscriptions when off campus. Devices can be twinned via CJOm while on the institution’s WiFi network, or remotely by using the ‘Mobile Device Twinning’ option on CJO, which provides a twinning code that can be entered into the device. For further information see the CJOm twinning blog post http://blog.journals.cambridge.org/2012/06/latest-cjo-development-mobile-device-twinning/.

Additional CJO upgrades and new features can be found on the ‘New CJO Features‘ pages http://journals.cambridge.org/action/stream?pageId=3716&j=2715696&e=lm10013@cam.ac.uk&l=19652_HTML&u=31882731&mid=1021741&jb=0.

This blog is now mobile-phone friendly!

I have now amended the settings on this blog so that when you view it on a mobile phone it automatically displays a mobile friendly interface.

Your feedback on this is welcome.

Audubon Mobile Field Guide Apps

If you research North American species, or work or holiday in North America and need to know what that insect / bird / mammal / fish / plant / amphibian / spider / marine organism you just saw was then maybe the Audubon Mobile Field Guide apps are for you! 

According to the National Audubon Society the apps feature "high quality photographs, range maps, animal sounds and and the ability to create your own lifelists and record sightings".

The apps can be downloaded to iPhone and iPod touch, iPad, Android, NOOK Color and Kindle Fire devices.

There's also an African wildlife field guide app. 

There is of course a fee for all of these. Find out more at: http://www.audubonguides.com/field-guides/mobile-apps.html

The Audubon Society also provides field guides online on their website. You need to register (for free) to access the online guides, which, as well as the apps, provide: information on 5,548 North American species, species identification by quick guide, family/taxonomic/common name, and advanced search; reference content including 2,300 bird songs and calls; 8,000+ photographic images; natural history, family descriptions, taxonomy, habitat, endangered species, community etc.; the ability to create lifelists and record sightings.

See their website for more information at: http://www.audubonguides.com/home.html

Android version of Qiqqa available

This is now available to download from the Android Market, in a beta version. You can also download it via Qiqqa.

It allows you to sync your documents down to your device and view them offline. See the Qiqqa website for more information at http://www.qiqqa.com/ (see the Download tab).

I haven't been able to try it out on my own Android phone (annoying phone memory problems) but I'd be pleased to hear from anyone who has used it.

If you're interested in using Qiqqa in general let me know and we can go through it together and I can perhaps put you in touch with others in the Department who are using it.

Having trouble accessing ejournal@cambridge via Lapwing? Use eduroam.

I've discovered that it isn't possible to download articles from journals via ejournals@cambridge at http://camsfx.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/cambridge/az from your laptop using the Lapwing wireless network. 

It's all to do with proxy server settings here at the university, apparently. The solution is to use the eduroam wireless network instead of Lapwing.

Eduroam is (according to eduroam http://www.eduroam.org/) 'the secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community. Eduroam allows students, researchers and staff from participating institutions to obtain Internet connectivity across campus and when visiting other participating institutions by simply opening their laptop'.

Undergraduates may think that they wouldn't need to know about this, and I don't think it has really been advertised to them much, but actually it's quite a stable wireless network available in many departments and colleges in the university (including the Department of Zoology), that they may find easier to use than Lapwing.

Potential eduroam users need to do a bit of simple configuration on their laptop before leaving Cambridge to travel to the academic institution they will be visiting - and this is what any student or academic / research staff member can do to be able to just use eduroam in and around the University of Cambridge. For instructions, and to find out which institutions participate in eduroam nationally and worldwide, see the University Computing Service website at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/wireless/eduroam/localusers.html. 

Can I use eduroam to access the wifi newtwork from my smartphone?

Yes, you can configure your smartphone to use the eduroam wireless network. See the University Computing Service mobile devices website for instructions on how to do this for your iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, Android, Nokia, Windows mobile, or Blackberry phones: http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/mobiledevices/. 

What is ejournals@cambridge and why should I use it rather than Google?

ejournals@cambridge is the University Library's official alphabetical list of all the online journals that it subscribes to.

Most of the time, using a machine on the cam.ac.uk network or on on your laptop, you will be able to simply do a search on Google or Google Scholar for a journal article and then download the full text. However sometimes, having found a link to the article, you may be asked for a password or payment to be permitted to download the full text, even though the journal is subscribed to by the University. ejournals@cambridge gives you the definitive details of what full text coverage is subscribed to, and gives you the links to the full text of it.

So, next time Google says 'no', try ejournals@cambridge!

Web of Knowledge now available on your mobile - updated post

You can access Web of Knowledge from anywhere at any time using your Web of Knowledge username and password, including from your mobile phone.

It's easy to create an account (which has to be done from a computer on the Cambridge network) - just follow the instructions here: http://wokinfo.com/about/mobile/

I have successfully searched Web of Knowledge (WoK) from my Android smartphone. Since I was logged on to the university's free wifi via EduRoam (or you could log on to Lapwing) I found that I could actually open the full text PDFs of articles I retrieved. I have just tested accessing WoK from my phone while connected to my own mobile phone network and found that I could also download the full text PDFs, for journals where the university has a subscription. I bookmarked the mobile site on my browser and was asked to login using my WoK password as I had previously set it up.

The mobile version has the ability to search within individual products (e.g. Web of Science), as well as the All Databases search.

You can sort, refine, email, add records to EndNote Web, link to full text, view times cited counts, search history.

Pretty impressive?! Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Mobile interfaces, devices and apps for accessing library and information resources

Here are some ways that you can use your mobile phone to access library and information resources via special mobile interfaces, devices or apps to help you do your research on the go.

To access e-books on your mobile phone / Kindle ...

All the e-books the university buys can be read onscreen but at present many of our suppliers do not offer licence agreements that permit texts to be downloaded, mainly because of the need to renegotiate agreements with publishers, authors, and rights holders of illustrations etc. Exceptions to this include: chapters from books on the Cambridge Books Online and Oxford Scholarship Online platforms which can be downloaded in PDF format to e-readers including the Kindle; chapters from the Royal Society of Chemistry platform, and the STAT!Ref medical books which are optimized for delivery on mobile devices.

For more information please visit the ebooks@cambridge website http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/ebooks/ 

To search PubMed on your iPhone or Android phone ...

PubMed on Tap / PubMed on Tap Lite enable you to search PubMed from your iPhone while you're out and about. The Lite version is free but only lets you view 10 abstracts from any search. The full version can be downloaded for £1.79 from the iTunes App Store.

PubMed Mobile and PubMed Mobile Pro allow Android users to search PubMed from their phone.  PubMed Mobile is free. PubMed Mobile Pro costs £1.86 and offers a bit more functionality. Download them from Android Market.

PubMed also has a mobile interface http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/

[Some of this information was mentioned in the excellent document 'A guide to accessing information via your mobile phone', written by Lynsey Hawker, NHS Liaison Support Librarian, St George's, University of London http://www.sgul.ac.uk/services/library/guides-help-sheets/help-sheets-pdfs/accessing-information-via-your-mobile.pdf]. 

To search the university's online catalogue, LibrarySearch, via your mobile phone ...

CamLib is the mobile interface for Cambridge libraries, available at http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/mob/camlib.cgi. CamLib has been tested with iPhone, iPod Touch and Android devices. Find out more about what you can use it for here: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/toolbox/camlib.html

The UCAM Library Search app for iPhones has been developed by a Cambridge PhD student. It's available for free from the Apple iTunes App Store http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ucam-library-search/id459882806?mt=8

If you've found any other really useful mobile web interfaces or apps please let me know and I can mention them in a blogpost here.

Free research paper management software - Qiqqa

Do you download a lot of PDFs?  Need a way to manage and manipulate them effectively?

This new, free software features:

• Document Management;
• Annotation Reports - easily summarize large documents for review; 
• Document Syncing - access your documents from anywhere;
• Built-in brainstorming software to visualise your ideas -add links to referenced material, reshuffle, and zoom in;
• Citation & bibliographies;
• Designed for academics, by academic;
• Interfacing with Mendeley, Zotero, EndNote etc.; 
• iPhone,iPad, Android, and support for other mobile devices;
• ... and much more.  

 Free research paper management software - Qiqqa