The Blind Men and the Elephant – John Godfrey Saxe
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approach’d the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -“Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ’tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a snake!”
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he,
“‘Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!”
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!”
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a rope!”
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
From Linton, William James, (1878) Poetry of America: Selections from one hundred American poets from 1776 to 1876
Change is a constant at aclibrary.org. Keeping up with the new choices and the new interface for online resources is a challenge. There is a lot going on and it is difficult to see the whole picture,
Please bear with us as we go though some growing pains with the new roll-outs and know that we are learning with you. If you get stuck along the way please let us know.
Today I would like to introduce you to one of our new eBook collections, EBSCOhost eBooks. In the not-too-distant future I’ll return to discuss other eBook options and eAudiobooks.
EBSCO Publishing recently purchased NetLibrary. If you used to use NetLibrary to read eBooks, you will now use the EBSCOHost interface. Look for the red tab at the top of the page currently labeled EBSCO/NetLibrary.
(If you are looking for what used to be NetLibrary eAudiobooks, go to OneClick.)
What is available in the EBSCOHost eBook collection?
- Over 8,000 eBooks.
- 7,537 of these can be downloaded to read offline or on a portable device.
- Mostly Non-Fiction for children, teens and adults.
- Fiction, Memoir and Biography comprise a small proportion of the collection.
- CliffNotes
- Business & Economics is the largest subject category.
How to get started:
- Start on the library’s homepage and select the link for eBooks & eAudiobooks. This appears on the lower right side of the page under Using Your Library.
- Soon there will be links from the catalog to these books, but these titles have not been added yet.
- Select EBSCOHost – there is link to this under Ebooks at ACL and under the EBSCO/NetLibrary tab.
- Enter your library card number when prompted. When you select EBSCOHost (and other subscription databases via our website) you need to enter your library card number. The terminology varies from vendor to vendor. EBSCO asks for your Patron ID, other sites may ask for Barcode, Authentication, or Library Card Number.
- Select eBook Collection. This is currently the first option on the list of EBSCO resources.
- Click on the eBooks link. When the new page loads, look for the eBooks link which appears at the top left of the page in the purple tool bar. This link opens up the main page for locating eBooks.
Create an Account:
- Select the Sign In link in the purple tool bar. The first time you go here you will Create a New “My EBSCOHost” Account.
- Once you have an account you can download books, place holds, save your search history and more.
How to search:
- See the EBSCOHost User Guide
- When you find a book you like you can view online or…
Download an EBook:
- You will need Adobe Digital Editions 1.7.1 or higher for offline viewing.
- You can read the eBook on a portable device including a Sony Reader.
- See Adobe Digital Editions Help for information on using the Sony Reader with Digital Editions.
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“There’s an app for that.” iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users will want to download the EBSCO app
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Cool!