LibraryOnline: Social Work (HE): Books & E-Books

Borrowing books for longer.

You can borrow up to 15 items for 2 weeks.

2 week loan items will automatically renew for up to 20 times - unless another user requests an item, in which case you will be given 5 day notice to return that item.
Reference items and journals can be used only in the library

Email reminders about your library use are sent to your College email account. To access your College email account go to Student Links. You will receive an email confirmation when you borrow an item, and you will receive an email confirmation when an item is due for return. PLEASE NOTE: if an item cannot be automatically renewed you will receive an email reminder telling you the item and date it must be returned by. If you do not return an item you will receive email reminders on the due date, 7 days after due date, 14 days after due date, and 28 days after due date.

If you do not wish to regularly check your College email account it is vital that you set up a forwarding rule from your College email account, so that any emails received will be sent to an email address of your choice. To find out how to do this, click here.

You can check the items that you have on loan on the 'My Account' tab at the top of the Library Catalogue.

When you put your search terms into the Library Catalogue, you search the description or summary of every book in the library including e-books. However, you can also search within the full text of e-books by going to the website of the suppliers (the people we buy the e-books from).

We buy e-books from three main suppliers which are listed below. Click on each of the links below and enter your search terms. The contents of all the e-books in the collection will be searched.

Ebook Central This link opens in a new window
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The titles on Ebook Central have been selected by Academic Liaison Librarians to support subjects taught at the College. You can browse and search for titles on the Ebook Central platform or search for a title via the Library Catalogue.
You can download the e-books to your computer or other mobile devices and e-readers (but not the Kindle). Only download the e-book if you would like to read it offline on a personal computer or device. You will need to install Adobe Digital Editions on the computer or device you are using to read the e-book. You will also need the Bluefire e-reader app if you want to read the downloaded e-book on an iPhone, iPad or Android mobile device. Ebook Central provides links to the software you need when you begin the download process. More information is available from the Help button on the Ebook Central website.

Please use your College username and password (this is your student/staff email address and password) to log in.
Accessibility Statement for Ebook Central
VLeBooks This link opens in a new window
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The titles on VLeBooks (Browns Books) have been selected by Academic Liaison Librarians to support subjects taught at the College. You can browse and search for titles on the VLeBooks platform or search for a title via the Library Catalogue.
Please use your College username and password (this is your student/staff email address and password) to log in.
Accessibility Statement for VLeBooks
Bloomsbury Social Work
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Bloomsbury Social Work provides online access to over 200 social work textbooks published by Bloomsbury (formerly MacMillan). The collection also includes research and study skills titles.

To log in and access the titles:
1. Go to https://bc.vitalsource.com/tenants/bradford_college_explore/bookshelf
2. Enter your College username and password (this is your student/staff email address and password).
3. You can choose to enter your password here if you want to take advantage of personalisation tools such as notes, highlighting. Or you can click on 'Continue without an Account"
4. Agree to the Terms & Conditions
5. In the Explore tab, you will see all the Social Work books.

Accessibility Statement for Bloomsbury Social Work

Most books in the Library are bought to support academic courses taught in college, but it is worth checking if your book is aimed at an academic or professional audience. Ask the following questions:

Is it a general interest book or is it written for a professional or academic audience? Check the back cover which will usually indicate who the book is aimed at.
Is there extensive referencing or a bibliography?
Is it published by reputable publisher? Many Social Work books are published by Critical Publishing, Policy Press, Bristol University Press, Policy Press and Learning Matters (which is an imprint of Sage). Also look for scholarly and university publishers such as OUP, CUP, Palgrave, MacMillan, Sage, Wiley, and Elsevier. Check the publisher online if you are not sure.
Are the authors affiliated with a university or an organisation in your field, or are written by well-known practitioners and educators, such as Siobhan MacLean?