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Memorial University

Memorial University Libraries

Course Reserves Service: Information for Instructors

The library makes required and recommended readings and other materials for courses available for free! We aim to make as much content as possible available to students online through our scanning and copyright clearance services.

eReserves

Memorial's Use of Copyright Materials Policy is that copyright clearance services for course material, both in person and online, will be delivered through the library’s online Course Reserves service. Our service helps to make materials available to students at no cost to them, while respecting Canadian copyright law and university licensing agreements. Instructors can submit their syllabus or list of course readings and other course materials to their branch library and we do the rest. If you have questions about this service, you can also direct them there:

How do I get started?

1. Send us your syllabus or list of readings and other materials and the course name and course code.

2. Library staff will set up the Reading List for your course. We will:

- Scan and upload book chapters and articles permitted within Fair Dealing Guidelines
- Acquire new eBooks and check and adjust existing eBook licenses if needed
- Acquire streaming films or work with the Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL) to digitize DVDs for online courses
- Provide persistent links to library resources, webpages, and open access educational resources
- Evaluate copyright and licensing restrictions, and secure permission if needed
- Purchase items required for courses that fall within our collection development policies

3. Optional: If you are using Brightspace, you may link your Course Reserves to your Brightspace shell.

Priority Service Option

Want to make sure all of your Course Reserves are available by the start of each semester? You can take advantage of our Priority Service Option by submitting your syllabus or reading list at least 2 weeks before the start date of the semester.

You can always submit your Course Reserves at any time and we'll prioritize having your readings ready in advance of each lecture.

What can be added to eReserve?

Items we can upload or add to eReserve

  • PDFs such as scanned book chapters, articles, and short excerpts
  • Audio and video files
  • Links to library resources like guides, databases, streaming films and eBooks
  • Links to publicly available or Open Access resources
  • PowerPoints or other slide presentations
  • Course notes, handouts, and other materials Instructors create
  • Visual Work (i.e. cartoon, chart, diagram, photograph, or other image)

Items we cannot add to eReserve 

  • eBook versions of commercial textbooks, which are generally not available for libraries to purchase. We suggest considering an Open Textbook, that has been funded, published, and licensed to be freely used, adapted, and distributed. Open textbooks can be downloaded for free or for a lower cost than traditional textbooks.
  • Materials that fall outside of copyright compliance or our licensing agreements

Benefits of our Course Reserves Service

Reduces your workload in preparing your course by taking care of scanning, purchasing and copyright clearance for you.

Eliminates costs to students and provides equitable access to resources. Course Reserves are always free to students and instructors.

Our Course Reserves can be integrated with Brightspace, so students have everything they need in one place.

No hard deadlines - we'll prioritize having your readings ready in advance of each lecture.

Our system saves past course info, letting us reactivate your list instantly and easily make updates or changes.

Reduces risk to the university. We make sure everything in our Course Reserves respects Canadian copyright law and university licensing agreements.