ILLINOIS STATE LIBRARY
eBook Collections
Access to the electronic book (eBook) collections of the Illinois State Library is provided via the State Library's Research Databases website. Many eBooks are also searchable within the Library Catalog. Software requirements vary for each collection. Current browser software is recommended for use with all eBook collections.
Offsite access to the State Library's eBook collections is restricted to current Illinois State Government Employees who hold a valid Illinois State Library card. Usage requires authentication by entering a 14-digit library ID number (located on the back of the library card) and last name.
Alexander Street Press
Alexander Street Press is a publisher of award-winning, online collections for scholarly research, teaching, and learning. The State Library subscribes to the following collections. No special software required.
- Black Thought and Culture. This collection contains 1,297 sources with 1,098 authors, covering the non-fiction published works of leading African Americans.
- Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000. Organized around the history of women in social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000, this collection currently includes 105 document projects and archives and more 53,000 pages of additional full-text documents, written altogether by about 2,200 primary authors.
eBook Collection on EBSCOhost
The eBook Collection on EBSCOhost is the State Library's largest searchable full-text collection of electronic books. Some audiobooks are also available. Adobe Digital Editions 1.7.1 or higher is required for offline viewing of eBooks from this collection. This free software allows users to easily view and manage eBooks and other digital publications. Adobe Digital Editions may be downloaded from Adobe. The Bluefire Reader application is recommended for viewing eBooks on iOS and Android mobile devices.
Additional support resources for the eBook Collection on EBSCOhost are provided below:
- eBooks Getting Started and Troubleshooting for Android Devices
- eBooks Getting Started and Troubleshooting for Apple Devices
- eBooks Getting Started and Troubleshooting for Mac Users
- eBooks Getting Started and Troubleshooting for Windows PC Users
- eBooks on EBSCOhost User Guide
- Search the eBook Collection on EBSCOhost
- Supported Devices
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gale Virtual Reference Library is an online library of trusted, authoritative electronic reference titles for multi-disciplinary research. Content provided in PDF (Portable Document Format) may be viewed or printed using your browser and Adobe Reader. Macintosh and Windows versions of Adobe Reader may be downloaded free from Adobe. ReadSpeaker technology (text-to-speech) is available for reading text aloud to users and for downloading in MP3 format.
Sage Reference Collection Online
Sage Reference Collection Online offers complete content to authoritative electronic reference titles and handbooks from SAGE Publications. Most content may downloaded in PDF (Portable Document Format) for offline use. Macintosh and Windows versions of Adobe Reader may be downloaded free from Adobe.