Library Catalog Quick Start Guide

The library catalog includes E-book records from full-text subscription databases likeSkillsoft Books, EBSCO and Knovel.

There are in fact nearly 50,000 records in the catalog with links to electronic books and thousands of additional records for print holdings that include a link to a full-text online version as well. In most cases, these items can be accessed simply by clicking on the link provided in the record. There is no need to "Check out" or place a "Hold" on such items, you can start using them with one click.

With your Virtual Library Card, these E-books are accessible both ON and OFF of the VDOT network. That means you can check out and use E-books from your home computer or connected reading device any time you like!

Example: Let's say you've just done a quick search for library materials on "cathodic protection":

You'll notice that the 2nd result is an "electronic resource" titled "Advanced Concrete Technology". This is actually a E-Book from our EBSCO EngineeringCore subscription. Notice the link displayed below the title in the Brief Record view (above). If you are on the VDOT network and click the link, you will be taken directly to the full-text E-Book in the EBSCO database. You should not be prompted for any credentials and can read the book by clicking the PDF icon or download the book using the download icon, which looks like this:

Note: From a connected device OFF of the VDOT network, you will follow the same steps outlined above, but after clicking on the URL in the catalog record you will be prompted to enter your Virtual Library Card credentials. Those credentials should take you directly to the E-book.