Help Page



Using EcoLibrary

Visitors to EcoLibrary can search for materials in several ways. Once you find useful items, you can follow hot links to similar materials. Search methods:

  1. Search full text descriptions
  2. Textbook-linked search
  3. Browse visually
  4. Download linked thematic materials

Why use EcoLibrary instead of a major search engine?

We provide:

  1. Attractive screen-filling images for PowerPoint™ and Acrobat™ presentations
  2. Scientifically accurate identifications and accompanying descriptions
  3. Selections of related materials that give more depth and breadth than a single image
  4. Suggestions on how to use materials in the classroom
  5. Multiple methods for finding materials on EcoLibrary

Browse Page

This page allows you to easily find materials that interest you. You may:

  1. Click the image or title of a topic (e.g., Forests)
  2. Click the check box of a topic, then click any Browse button

For advanced browsing, you may:

  1. Click the check boxes of multiple topics within a category, then click any Browse button (e.g., check both Forests and Deserts within Ecosystems). This is a logical OR; any materials that are listed as either forest or desert will show up.
  2. Click the check boxes of multiple topics in different categories, then click any Browse button (e.g., check both Forests within Ecosystems and Decomposition under Change over time). This is a logical AND; only materials that are listed as both Forest and Decomposition will show up.

If you make a mistake in clicking a check box, you may either click the check box again to clear it or click the Reset Browse Page button (to clear all check boxes).

The number following each topic name indicates the number of items listed under that topic.

Textbook Page

This page lists several textbooks in a given field. On this page you can get a selection of items relevant to specific chapters within each textbook.

  1. Find the topic area you are interested in (e.g., Ecology).
  2. Click the title of the book that you are using; these are listed alphabetically by the author's last name (e.g., Begon et al., Ecology: From individuals to ecosystems, 4th ed.). Make sure to select the correct edition.
  3. Click the chapter title to see a selection of relevant items; these materials are a subset of all the items that we think are most relevant to a specific chapter. Note: a chapter will not be linked to selections if there are no appropriate materials in EcoLibrary.

Themes Page

This page lists a number of themes for which you can get a selection of relevant items.

Find the topic you are interested in (e.g., Mimicry and Camouflage) and click it to see a selection of relevant items; these materials are a subset of all the items that we think are most relevant to a given theme.

Advance Search Page

This page allows you to search the EcoLibrary database using two criteria and a Boolean operator. You may also limit your search to a given field (e.g., Scientific name). You may search for phrases, words, and partial words (e.g., "leaf cutter," "cutter," and "cutt").

  1. Enter your first search term (e.g., "orchid") in the upper input box.
  2. (Optional) Select a field in which to search (if you do not select one, all fields will be searched).
  3. If you use a second search term, select AND, OR, or NOT from the Operator menu. (AND returns items that match both input terms; OR returns items that match either input term; NOT returns items that match only the first input term and that do not match the second term.)
  4. Enter your second search term (e.g., "bee") in the lower input box.
  5. (Optional) Select a field in which to search (if you do not select one, all fields will be searched).
  6. Click the Search button.

Search Results Page

The Search Results page shows you all the items that met your search criteria.

Click the image or title under an image to see that Item Page.

If there is more than one page of results for your search, navigation buttons across the top and bottom of the page allow you to move among different results pages.

The left side of the page shows:

  1. The search criteria (e.g., Social Behavior in Lessons)
  2. Display Options of "One page at a time" (shows all the items found, in detail, one at a time) and "All on one page" (shows all the items found, in detail, on a single long page). These display options only appear if there are fewer than 15 items found.
  3. After a browse search, there may be a "See Sub-topics" section that allows you to view finer distinctions (e.g., different types of forests within the Forests topic).
  4. If there are fewer than 15 items displayed you can download all the full-sized images and their accompanying text by clicking the "Get ALL images & text" button, located in the Display Options box on the left side of the page. Enter your email address when prompted and you will receive by email 1024 x 768 pixel versions of each image along with a pdf file containing the information that accompanies the image.

Item Pages

The Item pages contain a half-sized version of the image, a caption, and relevant accompanying data.

To download the full-sized image and all the accompanying text, click "Get image & text." Enter your email address when prompted and you will receive by email a 1024 x 768 pixel version of the image along with a pdf file containing the information that accompanies the image.

Many of these pages include links to "Related materials" that we strongly recommend using in conjunction with the item you are viewing. In some cases, there are also suggestions on how to use the sets of related materials in the classroom.

Each of the words and phrases in green text on the left side of the page is a hot link that will search the entire database for that topic in the specified category (e.g., clicking the topic "Tropical savanna" in the "Grasslands and savannas" category will return every item in the database that is categorized as Tropical savanna).

Panoramas: EcoLibrary contains 360 degree panoramas that give the viewer a sense of being in a specific ecosystem. You may download a panorama to view on your computer by clicking the "Get Panorama & Text" button, or you may view it direct from the Web by clicking the "View Panorama" button.

When you download a panorama, you will typically be offered a choice of High Resolution or Low Resolution, and With Sound or No Sound. You may view the panoramas with either of two viewers: QuickTime ™ or DevalVR ™. We recommend DevalVR for the the way it handles the graphics of the panoramas (free download at http://www.devalvr.com/ and http://www.devalvr.com/paginas/productos/index.html). However, DevalVR cannot currently handle panoramas with embedded sounds, so to hear the sounds while viewing the panorama, use QuickTime (free download at: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/).

In either viewer, click and drag with the mouse to move around within the scene. You can also zoom in to see more detail by using the Shift key and zoom out with the Ctrl key. The high resolution panoramas look better when zoomed in, while the low resolution panoramas download faster.