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10 things you (maybe) didn't know you could do with the O'Reilly collection

Subject:  Computer science, Multimedia and Telecommunications
A troubadour girl with two screens
08/09/22

O'Reilly includes content in many different formats ranging from audiobooks to audiovisual courses.

Do you have a technical question? O'Reilly has the answer!

The specialist technology and business manuals on the O'Reilly platform are the Library's most popular content for students, and teaching and research staff alike. However, the books are just a small part of this collection. Keep reading to learn more about the platform and its wide range of features. 

O'Reilly covers technology and business topics including cloud computing, programming languages, machine learning and cybersecurity. To use it, search for its name in the Library and log in with your Virtual Campus credentials.

1. Get instant answers to your questions

The O'Reilly platform includes a search engine where you can ask specific questions. The platform will scan the more than 80,000 books and videos held in the collection and give you an answer.

To use this option:

  • Once you're signed in, select the Answers option from the side menu.
  • Enter your question. The search engine is designed to recognize natural language.

Possible questions include:  

What RPC framework can I use in Python?
How do I write a flutter widget?
How do I draw a sequence diagram?

  • The answer to your question will appear highlighted in a book or video transcript. 
Option to ask O'Reilly a question

2. Learn as you listen

Over 1,500 new audiobooks have recently been added to the collection. They include materials from publishers such as Harvard Business Review, McGraw Hill and O'Reilly itself, and you can listen to them from your computer or mobile device. 

If the book you're searching for has an audio option, the Audiobooks tab will appear among the search options.  

 O'Reilly Audiobook

3. Take on-demand training courses

Click on the Explore option on the side menu and then on Courses. This section contains 30,000 hours of training, sorted into categories based on the professions that are most in demand in the tech sector.  

If you're studying in the field of business intelligence and data analysis, the platform will suggest, among others, data visualization courses with Tableau.
On-demand training courses

4. Use O'Reilly from your mobile phone or TV

You may find the following three tools useful if you use this resource on a regular basis:

  • The mobile app for iOS (available in the Apple App Store) or Android (available in Google Play and Amazon) lets you to download content and use it offline on your mobile phone or tablet. You'll have to log in with your UOC email address.
  • The Roku and Amazon Fire TV Smart TV apps let you watch O'Reilly videos on a big screen. You can find them on the Roku Channel Store and Amazon.
  • The Chrome extension (currently in beta) lets you access the collection directly while browsing the internet.

5. Discover tailored recommendations

If you go to the Recommended for You module on the home page and into the Explore section, in your personal account, you'll see the titles suggested by the platform based on your search history and stated preferences.

6. Set up a playlist

The team behind O'Reilly has asked a group of experts in the sector to curate content and choose the books or videos they consider to be most relevant in a given area. You can follow, share and even copy these lists.

You can start with a list of news about artificial intelligence, security, programming, the internet, Web3 or quantum computing.

7. Read books before they're released to the general public

If you click on Early Releases, a page with the books you can read before they're officially released will open up. This is unedited content provided directly by the author so you can consult it well before it is published.

8. Learn how to avoid mistakes with the help of case studies

You can learn how organizations have overcome particular challenges so you can avoid them yourself and save time. Take a look at the list of available case studies.

The published case studies include one on how to survive a ransomware attack, as well as one on how Spotify used machine learning to tailor the user experience.

9. Save an excerpt from a book and quickly retrieve it later

When you use the online reader for a book, select the part you're interested in with the cursor and click on Highlight. You can find all the texts you've saved in your personal account

Text destacat a O'Reilly

10. Take a look at the most popular books

The last module on the home page shows the titles that are most popular among users. At the UOC, these are:

With the O'Reilly online reader you can set your preferred font size, background colour and screen text width. To customize your reading experience, go into the book reader page and click on Reader Settings (represented by a cogwheel icon).

Reading options at O'Reilly

Start making the most of all these O'Reilly features! 

Experts