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    Introduction to the GCU Library: Books & Ebooks

    Get familiar with the Library online and on campus

    What's in LopeCat, the Library Catalog?

    Books and ebooks are in the library catalog, along with reference works like dictionaries and encyclopedias from Credo Reference, and the videos in Films on Demand. 

    Ebooks are digital. The Library has a number of different providers for ebooks. The provider decides how the books look, how many people can look at the book at the same time, and if it can be downloaded, printed, or only read online. The catalog record will tell you: 

    • What it is:
      • Book, Ebook, Video, etc.
    • Where it is:
      • Ebooks & streaming video are online.
      • Print books are at the Phoenix campus. The record will say where.
    • Any restrictions on use:
      • Limited number of users.
      • Reserve books, print books that do not leave the library.

    Looking for your textbook?The Library does not collect copies of textbooks. Most textbooks are digital and access is provided through the online classroom. A few classes use print books, which you may order from any vendor you like. Textbooks are not available through interlibrary loan. You can check what materials a class uses on  Canyon Connect .

    Find Books & More

    Start from the homepage and choose  Find Books & Moreor choose it from the Research & Resourcesmenu in the navigation bar anywhere on the Library website.

    You can also search the catalog from the LopeCat search box that appears on most subject guides.

    You'll find the Library's entire book collection—print and ebook—in the LopeCat catalog above.

    You can also browse or search collections by provider below. Multidiscipline providers have books in many subjects. The Library also subscribes to ebook providers that focus on a specific subject.

    LopeCat (GCU Library Catalog) Accounts

    A LopeCat Library catalog account is an optional feature in our LopeCat Library catalog. You can choose to set up an account in order to use additional features. Please note that a LopeCat Library catalog account is not required to use Library services, access ebooks, or check out any print items. 

    To create a LopeCat account: 

    • On the catalog home page, click on the  Library resources  dropdown.
    • Then click on  Create a LopeCat Account (My Account).
    • Scroll down the page and click on  Open Form in New Window. 
    • Fill in the required fields and click  Submit.
    • A Library staff member will reach out to you within 24 hours to confirm your account was created. 
    • Once you receive confirmation, you will be able to start using your LopeCat Library catalog account. 
    • If you would like assistance checking out, requesting , or renewing materials in the meantime, please  Contact Us .

    Most of our books are immediately available online as ebooks! To access an ebook, click on the Click here to access now link below the title: 

    Requesting a print book from the Library catalog

    You can now request print books directly from the LopeCat Library catalog while you browse.

    To request a print book found through LopeCat:

    • Click the Place hold button:

    • Select your preferred delivery method. 
    • If you need the book by a specific date, select I have a deadline for this material and choose your need-by date. 
    • Click Submit.

    Note: You will need to have a LopeCat Library catalog account and be logged in to request items. 

    In addition to requesting print items directly in the Library catalog, you can also monitor the status of the request from your LopeCat Library catalog account.

    To check the status of a print request:

    • In the Library catalog, go to your My Dashboard menu
    • Click on Holds & Checkouts.

    From here, you can:

    • View the status of the request.
    • Find out when the book is ready to pick up and how many other people are waiting for it.
    • View selected delivery method.
    • Cancel requests.

    One of the features of the new Library catalog is the ability to view your checked out items and renew eligible items yourself. 

    How to renew checked out items:

    • Sign in and go to My Dashboard.
    • Click on Holds & Checkouts.
    • Check off the items you want to renew.
    • Click "Renew Marked" to renew the selected items, or "Renew All" to renew all eligible items. 

    The status will update to reflect the number of times the item has been renewed and the new due date.

    Ebook Providers - Multidiscipline

    Using Credo Reference

    • Type a keyword into the search box.
    • At the top of your results will be an overview or summary article, and below that, entries from various works.

    the credo search page after searching poverty

    Mind Maps

    • You will find the Mind Map  on the right.
    • Use the Mind Map feature to brainstorm for ideas and new search terms. Click any term to change the map to center and focus on that term.

    Image of Mind Map ⇒Blown out Mind Map

    How to cite entries

    • Click on the citation option in the menu across the top.
    • Select APAfrom the pop-up menu.
    • Double-check against the Citing Sources guide as database citations are computer generated and not checked for accuracy.

    choose the format style you need from the list

    For a persistent link

    • Click on 'Copy Link' at the very top right of the page.
    • Copy and paste the provided link into your References page.

    page link provides the permalink

    Book Details Page

    When you choose a book, Ebook Central will take you to the Book Details Page where you can find important information about the book.

    • Book details such as publisher, date, subject headings and more are found on the right hand side. You can also view the availability of the book in the online library as well as a description of the book before you open it.

    Read Online

    • The button and the link will open the Online Reader, allowing you to read in full screen.

    Download Book

    • Download the book for offline access.  You can use Adobe Digital Editions to read the book offline. Once the download period is up, the book will expire and automatically return to the online library.

    Online Allowances

    • These online allowances are per book and reset after a 24 hour period. As you copy pages, print or download pages in PDF, your online allowances will count down. Once you reach your limit, you will have to wait 24 hours before the allowances reset.

    Save and Share Options

    • You can also save your book to your Bookshelf, share a link to the book and get a citation for the book. The citation feature will also allow you to export to RefWorks or Endnote/Citavi.

    Table of Contents

    • Scroll through the relevant chapters in the Table of Contents. The pages for each chapter is listed allowing you the option to download the chapter in PDF whilst keeping track of your online allowances. Clicking Read Online will open the Online Reader to that chapter.

    The Online Reader for PDF

    • The default view includes an expandable Table of Contents and navigation pane on the left hand side. Close the navigation panel to expand your book to full screen for reading.
    • Use the online reader icons to interact with the book.

    Citations, Permalinks, and Save to Bookshelf

    • Retrieve a page specific link to share a page from the book.
    • Create a citation and choose from 5 styles.
    • Add to Bookshelf.

    Search Within Book

    • Type your search term into the search box, making sure to put phrases in quotes.
    • Search results are displayed with frequency bars next to each chapter.
    • Select the chapter name to see the results per page and contextual snippets of text.

    View Online Allowances

    • On the book icon in the navigation panel, you can view your online allowances in copying or printing/chapter download.
    • If you have printed, downloaded a chapter in PDF or copied any pages of the book, the allowances will automatically count down.

    Copy, Print, and Download

    • Copy the whole page by selecting the copy icon in the navigation toolbar.
    • To copy text within a page, select your text and use the copy icon in the pop-up menu.
    • This will count down your "pages to copy" allowances.
    • Download a chapter to PDF. Text is searchable and selectable, and a citation is included.
    • Pages included in your Chapter Download are counted as part of your overall print allowances. 
    • You can also view your download allowances, which will download the title into Adobe Digital Editions for offline access.

    Annotations, Notes and Bookmarks

    • Annotate the book by highlighting, adding notes or bookmarking a page.
    • You can highlight sections of the book, add notes or bookmark pages of the book in the Online Reader itself.
    • You may view and manage your annotations via the Star icon in the navigation panel.
    • Books that are annotated are automatically saved into your Bookshelf.

    Online Reader for EPUB

    • If an ebook is only available in the EPUB format then clicking on any "Read Online" icon will open the book in the Online Reader for EPUB.
    • You can still copy, print, download for offline access. Use the arrows to navigate page by page. 

    Table of Contents

    • Access the Table of Contents via the icon on the top right.
    • You may scroll through each chapter and click through to the relevant page.

    Search Within 

    • You may search within the title with a keyword or phrase search.
    • You must use quotation marks if you wish to search for a phrase.
    • The search function will highlight the relevant pages where your search term is found. You may then click through to the page you want.

    Font Size

    • If you click on the font size icon on the top right of the screen you get the option to adjust the size of the text:

    Online Reader for EPUB Navigation

    • Clicking on the icon with the 3 dots will open a menu with multiple general platform navigation options. 
    • Here you can go back to the book's details page as well as to several other main navigation points of the platform like the search, the bookshelf, your profile, the language selection or the online help.
    • Lastly, the menu also provides you the option to sign off.

    Downloading Books

    Unlike your textbooks, downloaded library books will expire after a loan period.

    • Select "Download" from the Book Details Page or the Online Reader itself.

    Ebook central will open a popup for downloading digital editions

    • To download books for offline access, you will need to download the Ebook Central app.
    • If using a mobile device, the app is available in app stores.
    • A book cannot be checked back into Ebook Central early, but will simply "expire" from your reader when the time is up.
    • Once you have installed the app on a device you will receive a code to enter into your app on your device to authorize your account. Once a device is set up books selected to download will download to the app automatically.  

    Downloading Chapters

    • You can download a chapter PDF from the Table of Contents on the Book Details Page.
    • The PDFs are searchable, selectable, and include a citation and do not expire.
    • Chapter downloads require users to sign-in to their Ebook Central account or continue as Guest.
    • Benefits to signing in include increased copy, print and download allowances, access to your personal Ebook Central Bookshelf where you can save books, chapters, and create/save annotations.

    each chapter has a download option with it

    • A chapter download is counted the same as print and will be taken into account by the allowances of the book.
      • Each book's print/download and copy allowance is displayed on the Book Details page, and can vary depending on the publisher.
      • Once you have printed/chapter downloaded a page, the allowance automatically counts down.
      • The allowance will reset after 24 hours, giving you the full number of pages to copy/print/download again.

    each book lists the download page limits

    • You can also download a chapter or print pages through the Online Reader's icons. 

    The reader icons have PDF and Print as trigger.

    • The Chapter Download Icon will allow you to download the current chapter. You can choose your citation style.
    • The Print icon will allow you to input a page range. It will then download those pages in PDF. In order to print, you must use your PDF Reader's print functionality.
    • Read print-to-PDF and chapter download titles on any device that supports .PDF file types – from Kindles and tablets to laptops and mobile devices. Users may transfer files between devices without support limitation.

    Chapter download will allow you to choose citation styleYou can choose the style of PDF for download

    Using Your Bookshelf

    • Your bookshelf in ProQuest Ebook Central keeps track of your downloads, loans and saved books, and lets you share them with others.

    Download & Loans

    • Easy access to the books you’ve downloaded or have on loan, and a reminder of how many days are remaining.

    what you currently have saved appears first in my bookshelf

    Recently Viewed

    • Up to 10 titles that you’ve recently viewed are displayed here.

    Annotated Books

    • Easy access to all of the books that you have bookmarked, highlighted, or added notes on. Access your highlights, notes and bookmarks at the book level quickly and efficiently.

    annotated books is a menu option

    Save to Bookshelf

    • Organize your books into as many folders as you want. Your bookshelf comes with a Research folder and you can add more folders as you need them.
    • Sort by Title, Contributor(s), Year Published, Publisher.

    The folders are custom set

    Share Link to Folder

    • Share a link to your folder with others at your institution.  

    Email Folder

    • Email folder contents to other Ebook Central users.

    Export Folder

    • Export folder contents in .csv format.

    Cite Folder

    • Create a citation from your choice of styles: APA, Chicago/Turabian - Notes-Bibliography, Chicago/Turabian - Author-Date, Harvard, MLA, or Vancouver, or import into RefWorks/Flow or EndNote/Citavi. 

    the email and share options are are part of the top menu

    Export Notes, Share Link to Book, Copy To,  Remove

    • Export your notes and bookmarks.
    • Share a link to the book. 
    • Copy a book to another folder; or remove the book from your bookshelf. 
    • Create a citation from your choice of styles: APA, Chicago/Turabian - Notes-Bibliography,  Chicago/Turabian - Author-Date, Harvard, MLA, or Vancouver. 

    each book has actions you can trigger to pull the notes from it.

    Reading Ebooks in EBSCO

    • Choose the title you want from the search results.
    • Click "PDF Full Text" or "EPUB" under "Access options".
    • The book will open in your browser.
    • Use the tool bar at the top to save, share, or get a citation for the book, as well as open table of contents, search, and accessibility features.
      the tools menu includes save, cite, share, and download
    • The table of contents will open on the right side.

    Downloading From EBSCO

    Unlike your textbooks, downloaded library books will expire after a loan period, and do not support notes or highlighting.

    To use notes and highlighting, follow the instructions in the Reading Ebooks in EBSCO section above. The Library recommends keeping a backup of notes in a Word document.

    • To download you must have a personal EBSCO account. See the instructions in the next section for setting up an account if you don't have one.
    • Sign in to your EBSCO personal account.
    • Click the Download button.

    download with access options

    • If the book is available you will see download options. Choose full ebook and select how long you will borrow it for.

    you have a choice of how many hours and sometimes a choice of PDF or epub

    • Books are available to borrow for up to 24 hours.
      • Some titles may say "Sorry, this title is not available for download. Please view the title online." on a popup window after you click the download link. 
        • These titles must be read online.
      • Some titles may say "This title is in use" on a popup window after you click the download link.
        • You will need to come back later to download this book, as someone else has borrowed it.
    • You will need the Thorium Reader to download books.

    Creating a personal EBSCO account

    1. Locate the MyEBSCO link in the purple bar at the top of the EBSCO search screen.
    2. Click on Create and account.
    3. Fill out the form. 
      • You can use any email address that you would like.
      • You do not need to use your GCU username and password.
    4. Click on Create account.

    Using Sage Books

    You can begin a search for any topic in the main search bar, or use the advanced search. You can also browse through the collection by subject.

    Narrow down results using the limiters on the right.

    • Content type will already have books and handbooks checked. You can uncheck these to search all of Sage Knowledge, which includes videos, skill tutorials, and reference books as well.
    • Expand Publication Date by clicking the plus sign and then move the slider to limit by date.

    Content types include books, videos, cases, reference, and journal articles

    Tips For Using the Library Catalog

    The most relevant results are found using the author's name using this format:

    Rogers, Carl

    Keep in mind, you may only have the first initial of the author. For example: Rogers, Carl may appear only as  Rogers, C.

    To locate an exact title, enclose the title with a set of quotation marks as shown here:

    "Casebook for a spiritual strategy in counseling and psychotherapy"

    The most relevant results are found using this format:

    psychotherapy OR therapy OR counseling
    Or
    "higher education" OR college OR university

    Use multiple keywords to represent the same concept or try multiple combinations and alternatives!

    Once you have found a relevant book, look under Subject for the subject headings. These are links that will search for other books with the same subject heading listed.

    To locate only ebooks, after you have entered your search terms,

    click the checkbox for " Online Book " under " Format" on the left side menu options.

    • Print books can be checked out at the Library Information Desks. Don't live nearby? We can mail them to you!
    • Most print books can be checked out for 3 weeks with an option to renew.

    What if I don't live in the Phoenix, Arizona area?

    • We will mail (using the US Postal Service) the books to you, FREE of charge. You may check them out for 3 weeks with an option to renew if you need them longer. A postage-paid return envelope will be included.

    What if I can't wait for the mail delivery?

    • Try WorldCat .  This resource will allow you to search for books in libraries closest to your zip code.
    • If you find your desired resources, check with that library for their circulation/checkout policies. Even if you cannot check the book out, you may be able to read the book at the library.

    Ebook Providers - Subject Specific

    Reading a Book

    • Choose the title you want from the list.
    • The book will open in the default PDF viewer used by your browser.

    Downloading & Annotating a Book

    • To download a book click the Save icon. This may vary according to your browser's default PDF viewer.
    • The book downloads as a plain PDF. 
    • You can use your preferred PDF reader to read and annotate the book. RKMA Ebooks do not require Adobe Digital Editions.

    Using Sage Research Methods

    You can begin a search for any topic in the main search bar, or use the advanced search.

    Narrow down results using the limiters on the right.

    • Content type is particularly useful. For Books, uncheck the other options. If you access Sage Research Methods: Books and Reference it will preselect this option for you.
    • You will need to click the plus signs to see the check boxes to uncheck content types you don't want. 

    Content types include books, lvideos, cases, reference, and journal articles

    Browse through methods by browsing the Little Green Books (for quantitative methods) or Little Blue Books (for qualitative methods). Just click the links on the home page.

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