Accessing Resources from Off Campus: Mobile Devices

I have  tested our databases with several tablets with success, including the iPad, the Nexus, the Kindle Fire HD and the Nook Color. For more information about using ereaders with ebooks and databases see Using Marx Library Ebooks with Ereaders.

iPad

Our databases should work just as they normally would on a webpage on the iPad, except for pdfs in EBSCO databases. To access those pdfs, choose PDF Full-text then Download PDF and open it in your reader.

Nook Color

Our databases work on the Nook Color with the following caveats:

1. Once you have access to the web, hold your finger anywhere on the screen for a few seconds until a menu appears. Check that Browser Mode is set to Desktop Browser Mode -- I've found that, for our databases, the Mobile Browser Mode does not work well.
2. Make sure you have a pdf reader on the Nook. There's an ezPDF Reader in the Nook App store but it costs $1.99.
3. When you have found an article you want in pdf format, don't try to open it. Choose PDF Full-text (for EBSCO databases) then Download PDF and open it in your reader.

Currently the Libraries' databases that are the most mobile friendly are our EBSCOhost databases; we have over 35 databases provided by EBSCO, among them are Academic Search Complete, Business Source Premier, Education Research Complete, CINAHL, MEDLINE with Fulltext and SocINDEX with Fulltext.

To connect to the University Libraries' EBSCO databases, use the following link:

https://libproxy.usouthal.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=web

Other databases are "mobile friendly" -- the sites don't look too bad and the databases aren't that hard to use in a mobile environment. The Marx Library's web site detects when you are on a mobile device and will present you with the Library's mobile web site where the mobile friendly databases are listed.

Some databases also provide free mobile apps for your use. Check the Mobile Apps tab for these databases.