As many libraries’ physical print collections continue to diminish or disappear, a number of database producers are providing online access to books and monographs. Collecting and managing e-books is a topic for another essay, but several products are worth noting for their business titles in digital format.
Gale Virtual Reference Library provides online access to the complete full text of numerous reference works from Gale, Macmillan, and other publishers like New Strategist Press, which issues editions of consumer-focused works such as American Generations: Who They Are and How They Live (CH, Apr’03, 40-4378), The American Marketplace: Demographics and Spending (CH, Feb’10, 47-2937), or Household Spending: Who Spends How Much on What (CH, Aug’13, 50-6531). Other updated titles from Gale include Business Plans Handbook (CH, Jun’95, 32-5742), Encyclopedia of Global Brands (CH, Jan’14, 51-2423), Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns (CH, Jun’07, 44-5395), and Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Strategies (CH, Dec’13, 51-1839).
Books 24x7 specializes in business, technical, and engineering e-books. Its BusinessPro product covers such topics as business analysis, social media, human resources, and sustainability, with some material available in audio book or video formats. As noted above, some EBSCO Business Source licenses incorporate e-books, and the EBSCO eBooks database offers a Business and Economics category as well. Featured publishers include university presses and large commercial publishing houses (e.g., Routledge and Springer), along with smaller US and international publishers.
ProQuest publishes Safari Books Online Business Library tailored to academic and corporate audiences. ProQuest also produces Ebook Central (formerly ebrary) covering titles on management, finance, business writing, and entrepreneurship. Other vendors’ e-book platforms with business content include Business Expert Press, Springer Book Archives, Wiley Online Library, and Elsevier’s ScienceDirect, to name just a few.