At a glance:
Upon landing on the homepage, you will be given a brief summary of the purpose of the website. A notable fact here, is the number of books and periodicals published in the United States and Great Britain from the mid-1600s to the present day, for which it is listed there are 130,000 books! The Baldwin Library is known for comparative editions of books with a special emphasis on Robinson Crusoe, Aesop's Fables and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The books are all free to read!
How to use the site:
The home page gives you the option to search for a collection in the search bar:
In the Advanced Search tab you have the option of searching for more specific books. You also have the option of searching for books by year, including books that date back to as early as 1722. Once you have inputted the information you are looking for, click search.
You also have the option of searching for more specific stories, should you have any in mind.
This will take you to a list of books that contain those keywords. Select the book with the closest text to what you searched for by clicking on the image of the book.
This will take you to a selection of pages from the book. Select the page which fits closest to your text by clicking on the image. This will take you to a zoomed in version of the story you have searched for.
It is also worth noting the Table of Contents on the left side of the site. You have the option of selecting the story or chapter you are looking for from there.
This will also give you the added bonus of returning to a book or story at a later time.
Returning back to the Home Page, you also have the option to search for books according to their creator, genre, publication date, or even publisher.
For example, upon clicking 'Genre' it will take you to a list of genres available. You can limit the search, by searching for genres alphabetically.
If you don't have a specific book in mind, and would simply like to browse their library, click on View Items on the Home Page.
This will lead you to a page of available books. To view more books in a row, click Thumbnail View in the Menu Bar. Here you can scroll through the books available in the library. As you're scrolling through the books, you have the option to click Next or Last, or to Sort By: Title, Date Ascending or Date Descending.
You also have the option of searching for books according to language, publisher, topic, geographic area, genre and publication date by clicking on your desired search in the 'Narrow Results By' section.
When hovering your mouse over a book, an information box will pop up. Giving you the publication date, creator, subject and so on.
Once you have made your choice, click on the image of the book. Here, you have the option to click next and last for each page you read. If you pick up the book at a later time, you have the option of selecting the page.
Clicking on the image of the book will allow you to zoom in or zoom out, and will give you the option to return home too.
On the top right corner, you have the option to Print, Send, Add and Share the book. Print enables you to print the whole book, or a range of pages, while Share enables you to share the book you are reading on Social Media platforms.
To Send or Add, you need to be a registered user, in which case, click on Send or Add, Register Now, this will take you to a form you would need to fill up and send.
On the left, you have the Table of Contents. This gives you the option of selecting which chapter you would like to read.
