Electronic Resources (E-Resources) are the electronic, digital, and online resources offered by the Library—which aren't part of its physical collection of print books, journals, magazines, and media—from a variety of databases that include information, ebooks, electronic journals, newspaper articles, digital magazines, and streaming videos.
There are a number of ways to access our electronic resources:
Searching individual databases directly provides the most options and power. However, the Library Catalog can be more convenient and useful at the start.
(Note: For a list of e-resources to potentially acquire, visit the CCLC vendors page.)
For assistance accessing e-resources, there are a number of options available:
Question: What about OER, Open Access publications, and digital textbooks? Aren't these also electronic resources?
Answer: Yes, however... While usually take the form of electronic resources, we usually don't spend funds to acquire them, either because they are already freely available (as is the case with OER and Open Access publications) or they are licensed in a way incompatible with library lending models (as is typically the case of digital textbooks).
Open Educational Resources (OER) are resources released under licenses permitting their free use and repurposing by others. (For more information on OER, including how to find and use them, visit the OER Research Guide.)
Open Access Books and Journals are published under a model granting readers free and open online access to publications. While not as permissive as OER, Open Access seeks to increase the use and dissemination of scholarly communication and remove barriers to access. (Many Open Access publications are include and can be found within paid, commercial research databases.)
Digital Textbooks, also known as e-textbooks or e-texts, are those digital books or e-books offered by publishers for purchase or rental and secured by digital rights management (DRM) tools to prevent unrestricted copying, sharing, or accessing. (As digital textbooks are usually licensed on an individual basis, they aren't typically viable as e-resources that libraries can lend.)
Note: While we might not prioritize acquisition funds toward these resources, the Library is committed to making relevant and useful OER and Open Access publications easier to find by including them in the Library Catalog.