Newsletter issue 3: November 2018
Welcome to the third edition of the e-books for FE newsletter. We are sure that November has been a busy month with the new term getting into full swing, and GCSE English and maths resits taking place. We hope that e-books for FE has been a valuable resource to help you to save time and money, and we hope that it has had a positive impact on students’ studies. Each month in our newsletter we will bring you the latest news and updates to the service, as well as special features and the each month’s top 20 users and titles. This month we are also introducing function of the month, a new feature which will highlight functionality on the ProQuest Ebook Central™ platform that you may not be aware of. As always, we value your feedback and suggestions – please email these to content.feandskills@jisc.ac.uk
In the November issue…
Three new titles added this month
Top 20 users – November 2018
Top 20 titles – November 2018
Most used e-book of the month
Function of the month
Training and events
e-book of the month
The last word
Three new titles added this month
This month we are excited to announce that three new Pearson titles have been added to the e-books for FE collection. The MARC records for these titles should be available to download by 28th December 2018. For guidance on how to download the MARC records, please see our guide to MARC records.
Edexcel AS/A level Chemistry Lab Book
The Edexcel AS and A level Lab Book supports students in completing the A level Chemistry Practical requirements. This lab book includes all the instructions students need to perform the Core Practicals, consistent with A level online teaching resources, writing frames for students to record their results and reflect on their work, CPAC Skills Checklists, so that students can track the practical skills they have learned in preparation for their exams, practical skills, practice questions and a full set of answers.
Search ISBN 9781292200231 on ProQuest Ebook Central™
Edexcel AS/A level Biology Lab Book
The Edexcel AS and A level Lab Book supports students in completing the A level Biology Practical requirements. This lab book includes all the instructions consistent with A level teaching resources, writing frames for students, CPAC Skills Checklists, so that students can track the practical skills they have learned, practice questions, and a complete set of answers.
Search ISBN 9781292200255 on ProQuest Ebook Central™
Edexcel AS and A level Further Mathematics Core Pure Mathematics Book 1/AS Textbook
This book covers all the content needed for the compulsory Edexcel AS level Core Pure Mathematics exam. It can also be used alongside Book 2 to cover all the content needed for the compulsory Edexcel A level Core Pure Mathematics exams. It is fully updated to match the 2017 specifications, with a focus on problem-solving and modelling, it contains free additional online content to support your independent learning, including full worked solutions for every question in the book (SolutionBank) and GeoGebra interactives, and includes worked examples with guidance, lots of exam-style questions, a practice paper, and plenty of mixed and review exercises.
Search ISBN 9781292180335 on ProQuest Ebook Central™
Top 20 users – November 2018
Well done to all users who reached a spot in November’s top 20, and a special congratulations to the top 5. The FE and skills team thank you for your promotion and use of e-books for FE. Well done to The Cheadle and Marple College Network, who are the number one user for the third month running.
If any top 20 institutions have any tips to share on how you promote e-books for FE to teaching practitioners and learners, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with your top tips at: content.feandskills@jisc.ac.uk
| # | Institution | User sessions |
| 1 | The Cheadle and Marple College Network | 2128 |
| 2 | Uxbridge College | 1989 |
| 3 | South Eastern Regional College | 1912 |
| 4 | South & City College Birmingham | 1696 |
| 5 | Walsall College | 1574 |
| 6 | Gower College Swansea | 1562 |
| 7 | Suffolk One | 1506 |
| 8 | Leyton Sixth Form College | 1374 |
| 9 | Farnborough Sixth Form College | 1363 |
| 10 | Blackpool Sixth Form College | 1345 |
| 11 | Luton Sixth Form College | 1209 |
| 12 | Grwp Llandrillo Menai | 1181 |
| 13 | Southern Regional College | 1172 |
| 14 | Varndean College | 1081 |
| 15 | Neath Port Talbot College | 1069 |
| 16 | Woking College | 1057 |
| 17 | West Herts College | 1037 |
| 18 | The Trafford College Group | 1036 |
| 19 | North West Regional College | 916 |
| 20 | Activate Learning | 912 |
Mergers: If your institution has recently merged with another, ProQuest may not have the most current merger information and your merger may not be reflected in the usage data. Please check with ProQuest and request that they update your account to reflect the merger. Their e-book support contact address is: ebooksupport@proquest.com
Top 20 titles – November 2018
| # | Institution | User sessions |
| 1 | BTEC Level 3 National Health and Social Care: Student Book 1 | 9003 |
| 2 | BTEC Level 3 National Business, Book 1 | 5956 |
| 3 | CACHE Level 3 Child Care and Education (Early Years Educator) | 5490 |
| 4 | BTEC Level 3 National Business Student Book 1 | 3619 |
| 5 | BTEC Nationals Health and Social Care Student Book 1 | 2755 |
| 6 | BTEC Level 3 National Health and Social Care: Student Book 2 | 2522 |
| 7 | BTEC Level 3 National Public Services Student Book 1 | 2233 |
| 8 | BTEC Level 3 Business Book 2 | 2122 |
| 9 | BTEC Level 3 National Business Student Book 2 | 1901 |
| 10 | BTEC Nationals Business Student Book 1 | 1781 |
| 11 | BTEC Nationals Health and Social Care Student Book 2 | 1750 |
| 12 | BTEC Level 3 National Applied Science Student Book | 1547 |
| 13 | BTEC Level 3 National Construction and the Built Environment Student Book | 1545 |
| 14 | BTEC Level 3 National Travel and Tourism Student Book 1 | 1459 |
| 15 | Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour 7th Edition | 1448 |
| 16 | BTEC First Business Student Book | 1345 |
| 17 | BTEC Level 3 National Public Services Student Book 2 | 1307 |
| 18 | AQA A-level Psychology Book 1 | 1274 |
| 19 | BTEC Level 3 National in IT | 1207 |
| 20 | CACHE Level 2 Introduction to Early Years Education and Care | 1195 |
Most used e-book of the month
Title: BTEC Level 3 National Health and Social Care: Student Book 1
Author: Mary Whitehouse, Neil Moonie, Carolyn Aldworth and Marilyn Billingham,
ISBN: 9781846907463
November’s most used e-book was BTEC Level 3 National Health and Social Care: Student Book 1, for the third month running. This month it received 9,003 uses, which is 3,047 more uses than the second most-used e-book BTEC Level 3 National Business, Book 1.
Function of the month
Our first function of the month is the ProQuest Ebook Central™ search widget. The widget can be added to any web-page to allow users to quickly search over 400 e-books in the e-books for FE collection. This function can help to overcome interoperability problems with other search databases. If your federated search function does not work with ProQuest Ebook Central™, the widget can be installed to alert students to the ProQuest Ebook Central™ database. This can enable students to extend their research to an additional database. The widget can also be inserted into library websites, blogs, VLEs and Google Classroom pages. The code can be inserted into web-pages by copying and pasting a code snippet, which can be found here.
Training and events
UKSG Webinar – Accessibility Aspirations
In October the UKSG ran a free accessibility webinar, based on the outcomes of the Aspire audit of e-book accessibility statements and their implications for libraries. The webinar details the background of the Aspire project, runs through the key findings of the audit and explores both the implications and the opportunities for libraries. The webinar is free and is recorded on the UKSG website. To view the recorded webinar and access training materials, register here.
Digifest 2019
Booking is now open for Digifest 2019, which well take place from Tuesday 12 to Wednesday 13 March 2019 and will take place at The International Conference Centre, Birmingham.
Digifest is the leading UK education technology event for middle and senior-level managers, and those leading change across the further and higher education sectors. The event is a unique opportunity to see, hear and network with leaders at the forefront of the edtech industry, sharing the latest trends in further and higher education and thinking through an innovative, motivating and challenging agenda of thought-leading keynote sessions, hands-on workshops and lightning talks. Digifest delegates are actively encouraged to mould, shape and immerse themselves in the event conversation. You’ll have the chance to experience the latest advances in technology to question, inform, inspire and learn, which you can then feed back into your organisation. Digifest is free to attend for all Jisc member organisations.
Got a session idea?
This year’s events themes are:
- Digital lives of students: practices and expectations
- The student factor: attitudes to digital learning
- A fast-evolving world: the new face of digital education
- Leading the change: developing digital skills
Do you have a session idea that would be a great fit for any of these themes? Would you like to speak or nominate someone to deliver a session? If you are interested in submitting your session idea to speak at Digifest 2019, you can submit your idea here.
Submissions close at 12:00 on Friday 21 December 2018.
e-book of the month
This month’s e-book of the month has been selected by Helen Foster, the FE and skills curriculum services support officer.
Search ISBN 9781138631397 on ProQuest Ebook Central™
If you have a suggestion for December’s e-book of the month, please get in touch at content.feandskills@jisc.ac.uk
The last word
Chester’s library “puts culture at heart of transformation” and wins top Guardian award
It will come as no surprise that here at e-books for FE, we love libraries. We especially love libraries that innovate and adapt to meet the needs of twenty-first century users, and Chester’s award-winning new public library is a beacon for modern libraries. The new cultural hub of Chester combines the library, theatre and cinema, along with a cafe and a restaurant, and has recently won the prestigious Guardian Public Services Award. Here’s why:
“A couple of years ago, the library service in Cheshire West and Chester was in decline. The number of visits had dropped by nearly 100,000 in the two years leading up to 2016. It seemed it was another casualty in the dismal UK landscape for libraries, where many have been closed or forced to rely on volunteers.
Today, visitor numbers have rocketed by more than half a million, library membership has increased by 6% – up 11% among teenagers – and book borrowing is on the rise. Libraries across the district are now thriving community hubs, providing spaces for a diverse range of groups including a Syrian refugee sewing circle, and venues where health visitors can support hard-to-reach families and where young people not in education, employment or training are happy to meet.
The new £37m cultural centre Storyhouse, which brings the city’s main library, a new cinema and a theatre all under one roof, has been the catalyst behind this transformation of library services. And on Tuesday, Cheshire West and Chester council’s vision was recognised when the authority was named the overall winner in the Guardian’s Public Service Awards, in addition to winning the transformation category.”
“We hear so much about councils struggling to maintain services, but Cheshire West and Chester has rejected retrenchment and gone on the front foot with a stunning investment that has not only breathed new life into its libraries, but triggered a much wider cultural and community reawakening,” says David Brindle, the Guardian’s public services editor.”
Read the full story from The Guardian here.
If you have a suggestion for November’s the last word, please get in touch at content.feandskills@jisc.ac.uk
Support queries
Telephone: 0800 220 710
Email: content.feandskills@jisc.ac.uk
Website: https://support.ebooksforfe.jisc.ac.uk
The FE and skills office will be closed between Monday 24th December 2018 and Tuesday 1st January 2019 (inclusive). We will respond to all queries from Wednesday 2nd January 2019. The FE and skills team at Jisc wish you all a peaceful and happy holiday.
