The official WSU Common Reading 2022 Information page: Common Reading 2022-23 = Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
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The WSU Libraries is providing access to Braiding Sweetgrass as an unlimited use ebook (link goes to library record) through the ProQuest interface. This tutorial will walk you through the process of accessing and reading it. Information is provided in text with screenshots as appropriate; there are also short screencasts that demonstrate specific processes.
tl;dr version:
- Screencast of how to download and read it on your desktop, laptop, or tablet browser: screencast link
- About downloading Adobe Digital Editions for desk/laptop, accessibility options, and whether or not to authorize it with an Adobe ID (only use an Adobe ID if you want to transfer the ebook to a Nook or other e-reading device): screencast link
- Screencast of how to download and read it using Adobe Digital Editions on your desktop/laptop: screencast link
- Screencast of how to download and read it using Bluefire Reader (not Adobe Digital Reader!) on your iPad or iPhone: screencast link
- Note - I forgot to talk about how you DO need an Adobe ID for reading this type of library ebook on your phone or tablet. Here is the link for creating one - when you download and open Bluefire Reader you will be prompted to add it. Why not Adobe Digital Editions? It's a *horrible* experience!
- Screencast of how to download and read it using Adobe Digital Editions on an Android phone (Adobe ID and authorizing required): screencast link
Why are there two links in the library record?
We have access to this book through a subscription database, Ebook Central Academic Complete, and also as a purchased title through Ebook Central Perpetual (both of these are from ProQuest). They are the same ebook, and whichever link you select will take you to the same place. We have unlimited access, so there is no limit on how many people can be accessing it (that means reading it online and/or downloading it) at the same time (in this case, ignore the default language on the "Perpetual" link that reads "There may be a limit on the number of concurrent users for this title."). You will also have access for 365 days after you have downloaded it. If you need it after that you can just redownload it - any highlights or notes you have maide will still be there because they are linked to your WSU NetID in Ebook Central.
How can I read this book? These are your options, and you will see advantages and disadvantages listed below.
- You can read it on your laptop/desktop or tablet directly from Search It, using the Ebook Central browser interface
- You can download it to your laptop/desktop and use Adobe Digital Editions to read it (be sure to download it as an EPUB file, which enables the text to "flow" based on the screen size of your device, versus a PDF ebook file (not flowable, which means it stays the same size for every screen))
- You can read it on an iPad or iPhoneusing Bluefire Reader (again, be sure to download it as an EPUB ebook, not a PDF one)
Reading It Online in Ebook Central on Your Desktop/Laptop/Tablet/Smartphone Browser (Easiest)
Advantages:
- You can bookmark pages, highlight text, and make annotations (pop-ups or "sticky notes").
- Your bookmarks, highlights, and annotations are automatically saved and associated with your WSU email-based account, so they are accessible any time. Annotations can be exported as text (they will include citation elements and the page where you placed the annotation).
- Ebooks can be saved in a Bookshelf for easy access later - this is where you go to export your annotations.
- You can print (download) up to 164 pages (as chapters (chapter download, print to PDF) or as a range (Print to PDF), over time in PDF format that is yours to keep, in your designated citation style. Note: Be sure to download the Sources pages (p. 387-388) and the title information page for future reference!
- You can copy up to 82 pages - this will capture all the text on a page as text, along with the citation. You can then paste the text in a document, email, etc. Note that if you copy a highlight, it will count as one page towards your 82 regardless of how much you copied.
- You can search within the entire book once you select "Read Online" or open any specific chapter online.
- Accessibility: If you are using a screen reader you will be able to turn on Accessibility Mode yourself, If you don't use a screen reader but still want accessibility options, you can email ebooksupportATproquest.com and they will turn on that option for you. The Ebook Central interface also has options to zoom in and out that are always available.
- Note: If you want to read it directly on a tablet or smartphone you can access the book through Search it and then read it online and thus have a more readable experience. The experience will be just like reading it on a laptop/desktop, accounting for differences between browsers. (Actually, I thought the reading experience was actually better on my iPad Air 3 - the text looked crisper than on my monitor.) HOWEVER, in the tablet browser version you can't copy or highlight any text, although you can add sticky note annotations.
Disadvantages:
- Reading it on your desktop or laptop browser screen may not be as intuitive a reading experience.
Downloading it to a Desk/Laptop Using Ereading App Adobe Digital Editions (Macs, Windows)
Advantages
- Possible better reading experience
- Unlike many library ebooks that have limited checkout times enforced through Digital Rights Management (DRM) this one can be checked out, downloaded, and used for 365 days.
- You can still copy text and paste it into a Word document.
- You can highlight and use comment boxes within ADE
Disadvantages
- You will need to download Adobe Digital Editions. Note, you do not need an Adobe ID! You will be able to authorize Adobe Digital Editions on your device without one (authorizing is required because of Adobe’s digital rights management (DRM)).
- Highlights and annotations can't be exported and are not saved once the book is returned, so if you download the book, return it, and then download it again, you won't have access to previous bookmarks, highlights, and annotations. This can be solved a bit by just not returning the book since you have it for a year from the data of checkout and/or just copying your annotations and citation info into a document (or just not using annotations ;-).
- No downloading chapters or page ranges (that must be done in the browser version)
Downloading it to an iPad or iPhone using Bluefire Reader (because Adobe Digital Editions for iPad/iPhone is *terrible*)
Advantages
- You can search, highlight, and make notes
- Notes and highlights can be exported
- A good reading experience
Disadvantages
- To read a library ebook of this type on a phone or tablet you must create an Adobe ID and authorize Bluefire Reader with it.
