It is not so long ago that I don’t remember what it was like as a student. Ahhh the life, drinking to the early hours while philosophizing about life, the universe and everything. Rocking up to the occasional lecture or watching daytime TV with a tin of baked beans in one hand and a spoon in the other. Oh wait, that wasn’t me, I was the goody-two-shoes who turned up at EVERY lecture, did her homework, went to the library and looked jealously on at the students nursing hangovers in the student bar who could get away with going in one day of the week!
This article is for the students who want to get the most out of their degrees by organizing how they keep track of their lecturer’s notes, articles they research from the library and ebooks and books that they need for work and leisure.
How can the free Calibre software help students?
Converting lecturer’s notes
If you are a student you know the problem, you are given or can download your lecturer’s notes but wait, they are in icky PDF file format or even as a Microsoft Word file. In the old days you would have had to print them out, read them on your computer or panned from left to write on your ereader (if it could take it). Well no more. Calibre will convert the ebook to almost any format you could desire. Have a Kindle Paperwhite, fire or app? Maybe you have a Nook or some other device that will only take ePUBs like Kobo? Calibre can convert from PDF to Mobi or PDF to ePUB easily. There maybe some formatting issues but the document will be a lot easier to read and will take up a lot less space in your book bag than a file full of notes!
Converting articles from the library
Most university/college libraries will have access to databases where you can download articles for free to help with your work. These can be from EBSCO or Proquest but they will usually be in the PDF format. Again Calibre will convert PDF to MOBI or ePUB at a click of a button.
Finding your notes, articles and books
Another way Calibre can help is in finding your notes, articles and books that you have found on your course. If you catalog (similar to how a librarian does but maybe not as thoroughly!) your ebooks, books, notes and articles then you will be able to browse by category. This could be by module or subject (you would put these in the tags section of a book’s information) or search the database to instantly find to what you already have access.
If the items are paper books or maybe DVDs then you will have put where you can find them or where you put them. If what you are looking for is an ebook, it is possible to read directly from Calibre or send them to your device.
News
Maybe your course requires you to keep abreast of current affairs? Why not use Calibre to download news from the top free news sites for your academic area and convert them to an ebook and get them sent directly to your Kindle?
There are several ways Calibre can help from being an ebook converter and organizer, to a news aggregator. However you use it, it will help you save time when you are writing that all important essay or dissertation – the night before it’s due…
Please stay tuned for other ways to get the most out of Calibre.
Thanks for dropping by.
Now for the obligatory mention of my relevant book:
A Simpler Guide to Calibre: How to organize, edit and convert your eBooks using free software for readers, writers, students and researchers for any eReader.
Buy from Amazon: