Library Access to Required Course Books

Library Access to Required Course Books

The Pacific University Libraries are committed to working with faculty to ensure that students are able to access required course readings. The Libraries are able to offer services and resources that--while not always able to replace the convenience of a student's own copy of a course text--can usually provide students the access needed for academic success, and even help reduce student out-of-pocket costs.

For the 2021-2022 academic year, the Libraries are focused on providing online access to books, articles, and media. Limited course reserves are available in the Tran or Hillsboro Campus libraries.

RECOMMENDED STEPS FOR FACULTY

When submitting required reading lists to the bookstore (bookstore@pacificu.edu), faculty should also check book titles against the Libraries' collections (either yourself or ask us for help at libraryhelp@pacificu.edu) to see if we have the book in ebook format. Even if it looks like we have an ebook, please confirm with the library to find out if it’s a single-user-at-a-time ebook or if all students can use it at the same time.

In order to provide online access to a book/book chapters for students:

  1. If there is a book the Libraries doesn’t currently hold, you can request that the library purchase it. We will let you know what options are available (e.g. limited or unlimited ebook access).
  2. If an ebook isn’t available, you can request that the Libraries scan and put limited portions of the print book online using eReserves.
  3. If the options for access to a specific book aren’t satisfactory, and you are open to considering other resources, the Libraries can work with you to try to identify alternative library resources or open educational resources that have no limits on student use, instead of a book that has limited access.
  4. If none of the above options are satisfactory, students may need to purchase or rent their own copies of required books, either in print or as an ebook, from the Pacific bookstore or other retailers.

COMMUNICATING ACCESS TO STUDENTS

Once faculty know what is available (or will be available, if new purchase) through the Libraries, we recommend including a statement and notation in course syllabi about the method of library access available and, if applicable, the possibility that students may need to purchase their own books.

A general statement could read as follows:

Many readings are available online through the University Libraries, as noted below. Please be aware that some of the library ebooks allow limited numbers of simultaneous users. If you try to access the ebook and are told it is currently in use, please try again later. After using an ebook, please close the reader/browser or log out to make it available to other students.

For each required book, it might also be useful to add simple notation (with a key) to indicate what access is available, so students can plan ahead if they will need to buy certain resources; for example:

  • Use (M) to indicate readings available in Moodle
  • Use (L) to indicate readings available online through the library and include how to access  (if aren’t linked in Moodle already)