Transcript of MLA Handbook Plus Demo
Hi, my name is Joe, and I work at the Modern Language Association. I’m here to introduce you to some of the key features of MLA Handbook Plus, the only authorized subscription-based digital resource featuring the MLA Handbook. MLA Handbook Plus can be accessed by an unlimited number of simultaneous users at subscribing institutions. And it meets WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards, ensuring that learning MLA style is available to all.
The cornerstone of MLA Handbook Plus is the new, ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. A comprehensive reference work and textbook, the new handbook features 400 pages, 142 visual examples, and over 500 sample citations. MLA Handbook Plus contains all this content, powered by a versatile platform designed to make it even easier to teach and learn MLA style. With MLA Handbook Plus, students will always have access to the most current guidelines.
MLA Handbook Plus uses the same numbering of sections as the print handbook, so users can easily go back and forth between MLA Handbook Plus and the print and e-book editions. Each section of the digital handbook also has its own unique DOI.
Users can navigate MLA Handbook Plus in various ways, all fully linked on the site. Let’s look at a section from chapter 5 as an example. Each page features a chapter-level content pane on the right that expands to show sections, with links. There is also a list of contents for the chapter on the left. Users can navigate between chapters using the previous and next links. They can also follow the links in the boxed cross-reference sections to refer to other relevant areas of the handbook. The top navigation allows users to go back to the book’s main table of contents by clicking MLA Handbook. The index from the print book is fully reproduced, at the bottom. And the index also contains links that can be used as a navigational tool as well. Now let’s go back to that section from chapter 5.
To help reinforce core concepts, we also added a split-view feature that lets users see figures and illustrations while reading corresponding content. Users can toggle between a standard view, with figures presented inline, here, and a split-screen view, in which figures are presented on the right. In both views, users can adjust the sizing of figures for optimal legibility.
We've tagged and categorized every section of the handbook to help students find the most relevant information using the search function. Students can search for "commas," for example, and they can limit the results to sections showing how to use commas in prose, or in in-text citations. Appendix 2 is also fully reproduced, with hundreds of example citations. The appendix is divided into sections according to content type. On Handbook Plus, each of these sections can be found through the search function as well. For example, a search for “films” reveals a section of the appendix titled “Films and Videos.” By using the filter example citations, users can limit their search to works-cited-list examples in appendix 2.
After your institution has subscribed, you have three access options: through your institution’s IP range, through Open Athens, or through EZ Proxy. Once authenticated through those methods, you have the option of creating a personal log in giving you access to the platform for 90-day periods without having to connect to your institution’s authentication systems. And users with a personal log in have the additional benefit of being able to save their searches on the site. And they do this by clicking “Save Search” on the search results page.
The “plus” in MLA Handbook Plus includes a video course on MLA style. It also includes companion guides to the handbook like the MLA Guide to Digital Literacy and the MLA Guide to Undergraduate Research in Literature. You can find these books under the “All Books” tab on the home page. And with MLA Handbook Plus, we at the MLA will be able to make seamless annual updates to the handbook, including an ever-growing bank of citation examples, more video courses and tutorials, and additional companion guides, ensuring that MLA style evolves with student needs and usage conventions.
If you’d like more information, including about subscribing or requesting a free trial, click on the Get Access link at the bottom of the site. Thanks for taking this quick tour, and welcome to MLA Handbook Plus.
