CSI Library: E-Books and More: E-Book Subscription Databases

About This Page

This page features highlighted e-book databases that the library has subscribed to. In order to access the e-books cataloged in these databases, you will need to log in using your CUNY credentials. If you are looking for a resource that is not listed here, or have a resource to recommend, please contact us!

If you wish to recommend an e-book be added to the library's general collection, please fill out the Materials Request Form.

What is an E-Book Subscription?

In order to provide access to e-books that are not Open Access, Open Educational Resources, or in the public domain, the library has to subscribe to the publishers' e-book databases. This means that although CSI students, faculty, and staff have access to e-books, the library does not own and only licenses those books. As a result of the different licensing agreements the library has with certain publishers, some e-books might be able to be downloaded (either partially or fully) as a PDF, while others can only be read online.

However, for maximum access, the Library suggests viewing e-books in an e-reader directly on the platform (i.e.,use the read online option) and not the download e-book option if there is a choice. This is because downloads trigger a check out session of twenty-four hours or more where the book is unavailable to others.

E-books that the library licenses can also be found by using the library's One Search discovery layer,

For single eBooks

Ebook Central
Ebook Central from ProQuest brings together several digital platforms into one easy-to-use database with over 200,000 books. For information about downloading and off-line reading, see our Ebook Central help guide. After 5 minutes of reading, or if you choose a download option, you MAY be asked to log-in to your College of Staten Island SLAS account.
EBSCO eBook Collection This link opens in a new window
Access to over 5,000 full text e-books across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Find full text scholarly and reference books in a variety of subjects, including business, economics, computer science, history, political science, art, literature, and science.
In order to read offline or download to a reader, first create an account.
View Download Tutorial
SpringerLink eBooks and Journals This link opens in a new window
Over 20,000 full text ebooks and reference works, and 2,500 journals published by Springer. Core focus is science, technology, and medicine but includes some titles in the social sciences and humanities.

For Reference Works

Cambridge Histories Online This link opens in a new window
The Cambridge Histories include well-known, used and trusted reference volumes, available completely online. They cover various aspects of world history including law, politics, religion, philosophy, science, and economics. CSI owns approximately 370 select volumes. Please use OneSearch or select the "Only show content I have access to" filter when searching on the Cambridge Histories website.
Cambridge Shakespeare Survey
Shakespeare Survey is a yearbook of Shakespeare studies and production. Since 1948 Survey has published the best international scholarship in English and many of its essays have become classics of Shakespeare criticism. Each volume is devoted to a theme, or play, or group of plays, as well as including a number of articles not on the theme; each also contains a section of reviews of that year's textual and critical studies, and of the year's major British performances.
Gale EBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new window
Digital reference collection containing over 400 full text encyclopedias, almanacs, handbooks, and specialized reference books. Search for articles across all the books in the database or browse through specialized subject specific encyclopedias. All articles are also indexed in the library's primary catalog, OneSearch.
Occupational Outlook Handbook This link opens in a new window
This free Career information handbook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics describes the activities, working conditions, educational requirements, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations. The Occupation Finder allows you to sort jobs by level of education required for entry. Print edition located in Reference [Call Number: HF5382.5.U5O3].
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Digital collection of online reference books in all fields of study including dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, and subject reference works. Search by keyword or browse titles by subject.
Salem eBooks
A collection of electronic reference books and encyclopedias from Salem Press, including materials in literature, history, science, health, and careers. Includes the Critical Survey of Long Fiction and the Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Particularly strong in history and in Earth and environmental sciences.

E-Books and More

Tips for Using the ProQuest Database

Tips for Using the EBSCO Database

Need Help?

About This Page

What is an E-Book Subscription?

For single eBooks

For Reference Works