Showing posts with label textbooks. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Not finding it in the Library? We will try to fill the void!

Elisabet Ingibergsson Tuesday, July 23, 2019 , , No comments :
Can’t find what you are looking for? It’s happened to everyone at one time or another - a book or resource is just not in the library catalogue. Fortunately, there are several options available to you!

Quite often, the resource (sometimes an article) can be found by our Interlibrary Loans team.
Hint: If you are searching for articles, the place to find full-text is to click on “Get It!”. From there we suggest you search Google for free access first, and if you still cannot find the article then place an Interlibrary Loan request.

The Libraries' Course Textbook Initiative is another option which was conceived to increase student access to textbooks and offset their costs. If the book you seek is required for the course and costs more than $50 it will be made available in the Course Materials area. They may be borrowed for 2 hours during library hours.

If you can’t find it or your textbook is recommended or optional, you can request that we purchase it:
Students: submit a request for purchase  / Instructors: submit a Course materials / Reading List Request

Interested in finding out if your course textbook is available to borrow? Search Course Materials.
Questions about this service? Email: textbook@ualberta.ca

Recommend a Purchase:  If the item you are looking for is missing from our catalogue, then feel free to recommend a purchase and our Monograph Acquisition Team will try to get it for you, whether from Canada, or across the seas! Please do so using our Recommend a Purchase form. 

Should you require more information or assistance please Ask us!

 Vous pouvez lire cet article en français sur notre Biblioblogue :  2019/07/vous-ne-le-trouvez-pas-dans-la.html

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Spotlight on Open Educational Resources

Unknown Thursday, September 27, 2018 , , , No comments :

Spotlight on Open Educational Resources 

The fall semester is well on its way, but it is always a good time to think about how Open Educational Resources (OER) fit with your teaching, learning or research!

We have talked about OER before, but we wanted to remind you of some of the great opportunities to get involved with this exciting movement.

To catch you up, OER are teaching, learning and research materials that are in the public domain and allow for remixing, redistribution and sharing. They can include everything from entire courses to whole textbooks, various types of media, or assessment materials.

Anything that you use for teaching and learning in your courses could probably also be an OER! It is all about how others can access the content to adapt it to their context, and even share those materials after they have made those changes. This collaborative approach to learning is at the heart of the OER initiative.

Hint: This didn’t give you enough information? Watch this video to learn more

Why Do Libraries Care about OER?

Meeting the needs of our community and lowing the barrier to information is always a library's mission. For example, did you know that the University of Alberta Libraries has a textbook lending program to help lower the barriers to accessing expensive textbooks? OER are another tool in our toolbox to share new way to think about teaching and learning.

Who Cares about OER ?

The most common consideration for OER is the rising cost of textbooks and the burden on students. This fall the University of Alberta Students’ Union hosted the Be Booksmart Fair to share their concerns about textbook costs.

As a large campus building up professionals for a variety of fields, the knowledge of OER is something that our students can take into their professionals lives to have continued access to scholarly dialogue and encourage lifelong learning.
"The integration of an OER in your classroom means you are removing barriers for students to connect with course content. Therefore, students are more engaged in the class, they produce higher quality work, and have an enjoyable and accessible experience at a leading institution in Canada."
The University of Alberta's VP Academic Akanksha Bhatnagar

Upcoming Events

Open Educational Resources Showcase
December 30, 2018 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Cameron Basement B-12

Remixing and Revising Free Teaching Materials
November 19, 2018 12:00 PM - 1:20 PM
Cameron Basement B-12

Open Educational Resources Showcase
December 6, 2018 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Cameron Basement B-12

Taking Action

There are many low barrier ways to explore an interest with OER, or just learn about your community supports. Read more about the open education movement on the UA Libraries Open Education libguide and consider contacting our OER Subject Librarian. You may also want to check out the Centre For Teaching and Learning's Open Education page and consider booking a consultation, or join the UofA OE Interest Group.


This article is licensed under a CC BY licence. Visit Creative Commons to learn more about what this means.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Library Hacks: Reserves

Hanne Pearce Monday, March 26, 2018 , , No comments :

Welcome to Library Hacks, a recurring segment where we give you tips on using the library.

In this episode we learn about RESERVES.

What are reserves?

Reserves are library materials that are in high demand. Reserves can be books, DVD videos, sound recordings, music scores or any other type of library material that is being used as part of a class and therefore is in higher demand then usual. When items are on reserve they usually check out for 2 hours to ensure everyone in the class can make use of them.

How do materials get on ‘reserve’?

The University of Alberta Libraries has a textbook initiative that ensures all textbooks used in UAlberta classes over $50.00 get added to the related reserve collection in the library for that subjected area. So for example if you have an astronomy textbook that is over $50.00 it will be added to the Cameron Science and Technology Library reserve room. If your textbook is in Art History and it is over $50.00 it will be placed on reserve at Rutherford Humanities and Social Sciences Library.

Instructors can also identify books and materials they are using for their classes and have them added to the reserve room. Student who cannot find their textbook can make a request to have the textbook added via a form on the library website.

How do you find reserves?

The best way to find reserves is to search for them on the library website first. You will find a Reserves search to the right of the search box on the library website.

In the reserves search you can search by course abbreviation like ANTHRO 101 or  ENGL 103 to see what materials are available for your class. The item records of reserve books will give you a Call Number that you will need to find the books on the shelf, and the record can also tell you if the book is in or checked out.

Try out the reserve search.

How do you check out reserves?

Once you have found the material on the shelf you can use the self-service machines in the Reserve Room to check them out. When returning materials, check them in on the self-service machine and leave them on a nearby cart for reshelving. Overnight reserves are due in the morning when the library opens. If the library is still closed when you come to return a reserve item you can put the materials into the book return and library staff will check them in when the library opens.

The most important thing to remember about reserve materials is that they are there for everyone in the class. Make sure to return your materials on time and share with your classmates.




Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Students: Help Us Improve the Textbook Reserve Service

Anonymous Tuesday, January 23, 2018 , No comments :
you talk, we listen about textbooks
The UAlberta Libraries want to learn more about your experience with course textbooks overall as well as learning about how (and if) you use the Libraries' textbook reserve service. We are looking for undergraduate students to participate in an interview with a librarian.

We expect that the interview would take no more than 45 min. Information gathered during these interviews will be used to improve and develop the textbook reserve service.

By participating in this study, you will receive $20 in ONECard cash.

To apply, please complete this form and you will be contacted if selected. Application deadline is January 31, 2018.

Application form: https://goo.gl/forms/h1k0WzMa6NJqI6WA3

Questions about this project can be directed to Angie Mandeville at afm1@ualberta.ca.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Borrow Course Textbooks from the Library

Unknown Friday, September 09, 2016 No comments :

The aim of the Libraries' Course Textbook Initiative is to increase student access to textbooks and offset student costs. The U of A Libraries allocates $100,000 annually to purchase selected course textbooks. $100,000 doesn’t cover all course textbooks, so, we follow these priorities:

  • Textbook is REQUIRED for the course (not recommended or optional)
  • Cost is $50 or more
  • Effective January 1, 2017 there is no minimum enrollment threshold number  20 or more students are enrolled in the course
A small portion of the budget has been set aside to respond to student requests for textbooks that fall outside of these priorities. Suggest a purchase.

In order for as many students as possible to use these textbooks, they are made available in Library Reserve Collections, and may be borrowed for 2 hours during library hours.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Course textbooks are expensive! Borrow one from the Libraries.

Anonymous Tuesday, September 01, 2015 , No comments :
The Libraries' Course Textbook Initiative's aim is to increase student access to textbooks and offset student costs on them. Just over $100,000 has been allocated to the purchase of select course textbooks, funded by UAL and the Students' Union.  

 After consultation with its Students' Library Advisory Committee last year, the Libraries decided to prioritize the purchase of one copy of all required undergraduate textbooks that cost $50 or more and that support courses with a total enrolment of 20 or more students.  For courses with large enrolments, one textbook is ordered for every 75 students.  A small portion of the budget has been set aside to respond to individual requests for textbooks that fall outside of these two priority areas.    

This new initiative will be reviewed at the end of each term to assess the use of purchased materials as well as purchasing priorities for future terms.


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