Library User Guide & Documentation Hub
Learn how to discover books using Library of Congress call numbers, customize your reading environment with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) tools, take interactive study notes, and export publication-grade academic citations.
Finding & Filtering Books
Mastering search, reading levels, and view modes.
Hesten's Learning digital library offers multi-facet search across the entire collection. You can locate volumes using titles, authors, keywords, ISBNs, or Library of Congress call numbers.
Lexile Level Filter
Filter books by reading difficulty: Elementary (<500L), Middle School (500L–900L), and High School / Advanced (>900L).
Ledger vs Card Views
Switch between the Academic Ledger (compact table view displaying call numbers and metadata) and the Virtual Shelf (visual book covers with spine badges).
Personal Reading List
Click the bookmark ribbon on any book card to save it to your local reading queue. Access your saved books instantly via the "⭐ My Reading List" filter chip.
Deciphering Library of Congress Call Numbers
Understanding intellectual addresses and shelf organization.
Every work in our library is assigned an authentic Library of Congress Classification (LCC) call number. Unlike arbitrary numbering, LCC codes place books with similar subjects together.
- KF: Law of the United States (K = Law, F = United States Federal).
- 4527: Specific classification section for constitutional treaties and organic laws.
- .C66: Cutter identifier for Constitutional Convention.
- 1787: Publication year of the original document.
Copying Call Numbers: In the Master Catalog (cataloge.php), click the copy icon next to any call number to paste it directly into your notes or citations.
The Digital Reader & Customization
Tailoring your reading environment for optimal focus and comfort.
When reading online, open the Reader Settings drawer () to personalize your visual layout:
Five Reading Themes
Select between Light (classic paper), Dark (slate gray), Midnight (deep space navy), Sepia (warm eye-friendly cream), or High Contrast (pure black & white).
Typography Scaling
Adjust the font size from 14px to 28px. Modify line height and paragraph margin spacing to eliminate crowding and optimize reading speed.
Zen Focus Mode
Click the Zen Focus button () to hide headers, sidebars, and navigational elements for distraction-free reading.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) & Accessibility
Assistive technologies for neurodiverse scholars and diverse learners.
Hesten's Learning incorporates specialized reading accommodations built directly into the reading engine:
OpenDyslexic Typography
Switch to weighted OpenDyslexic font designed with heavy baseline gravity to prevent letter flipping and rotation.
Bionic Reading Mode
Automatically bolds the first 2-3 characters of each word (e.g. Reading facilitates focus), guiding your eyes rapidly down the line.
Irlen Optical Tints
Apply soft color overlays (Rose, Mint, Lavender, Amber, Ice Blue) to dramatically reduce visual stress and scotopic sensitivity syndrome.
Text-to-Speech (TTS)
Listen to any chapter with synthesized read-aloud. Control speed (0.75x to 1.5x), pause, or resume at any point.
Highlighting & The Global Study Notebook
Annotating texts, saving reflections, and creating study guides.
- Highlighting Text: Highlight any sentence or paragraph in a book reader. A floating palette appears allowing you to select Yellow, Green, Cyan, or Pink.
- Attaching Notes: Click any highlight to add an analytical note, question, or study reflection.
- Opening the Study Notebook: Click the "Notebook" button in the library navigation ribbon (or press the stat card on the library home) to open your global Study Notebook.
- Searching & Reviewing: Filter all your highlights and notes across all books by color or keyword, or export them for essays and revision.
Generating Academic Citations (MLA, APA, Chicago)
Exporting publication-grade bibliographic references in seconds.
Never worry about manual citation formatting. Hesten's Learning includes an automatic Academic Citation Generator supporting three major styles:
MLA 9th Edition
Standard for English literature, humanities, and cultural studies. Formatted with authors, title in italics, and container details.
APA 7th Edition
Standard for sciences, psychology, and education. Features author-date format and sentence-case title rules.
Chicago 17th Edition
Standard for historical research, primary source archives, and political science papers.
To generate a citation, open any book overview modal and click "Cite Book", or trigger the citation generator inside the reader. Click "Copy Citation" to copy the text with hanging indent styling.
Daily Reading Goals & Streaks
Building consistent reading habits through positive gamification.
Stay motivated with built-in daily habit tracking:
- Setting Daily Goals: Click the goal card in your Scholar Dashboard to select a daily target (5 min, 15 min, 30 min, or 60 min).
- Live Progress Ring: As you read chapters in the reader, your timer automatically records active reading and updates your circular progress ring.
- Day Streaks: Reading at least once each calendar day maintains your fire streak () and earns Scholar XP.
Offline Resiliency & Google Drive Cloud Sync
Seamless multi-device synchronization and zero network dropouts.
Hesten's Learning is built with an offline-first architecture:
Offline Reading
Once you open a book or fact repository, it caches locally. If you lose internet connection, you can continue reading uninterrupted.
Auto-Sync to Google Drive
Enable Google Drive Auto-Sync in your platform settings to synchronize your reading streaks, bookmarks, highlights, and notes across all your school or home devices.
Power Scholar Keyboard Shortcuts
Navigate at lightning speed without ever touching your mouse.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| / | Focus Search Bar instantly from anywhere on catalog pages |
| ? | Open Keyboard Shortcuts cheatsheet modal |
| Esc | Close active modal, search dropdown, or reader drawer |
| Tab / Shift + Tab | Navigate forward and backward through books and interactive controls |
| Enter or Space | Open book overview, activate filters, or trigger action buttons |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our digital holdings and formats.
Can I download books to my Kindle, Kobo, or e-reader?
Yes! In the Book Overview modal, books provide direct download buttons for EPUB, PDF, and clean Plain Text (TXT) files. You can load these onto any standard e-reader device.
Are these texts approved for classroom teaching?
Absolutely. All primary documents and textbooks are unabridged and aligned with high school, AP, and collegiate standards. Books featuring the Teacher Resources badge include curricular study guides.
How do I suggest a new public domain book for inclusion?
You can submit requests through our Feedback & Suggestions portal or contact the editorial guild. We prioritize historical primary documents, science reference handbooks, and classic world literature.