Faculty: Library Resources & Services

Here are some library tips for helping smooth the transition to online learning:

DO start by putting your existing content online - syllabus, assignments, gradebook - these provide the structure for your class and once they're up, you'll have a stronger sense of what resources you might still need to pull in to help students understand or contextualize the material.

DO look at your existing resources - are there digital alternatives? Look at the library ebook collection to add etextbook chapters and multimedia resources to your classes.

• Access Medicine
• Clinical Key

DO use the Fair Use exemption to Copyright - you can digitize and excerpt portions of copyrighted materials to share for educational purposes.  If you're not sure, use the Fair Use Checklist (see below) to help inform your decision.

DO read the Public Statement of Library Copyright Specialists in response to the Covid-19 changes to higher ed.*

DO make an appointment with a librarian to consult about specific online resource needs you may have.

Don't try and rebuild courses from scratch for online learning - focus on moving your existing content online, and then supplementing the course with a few extra assignments, discussions, or resources.  

Don't look to outside resources first - you'll very quickly be overwhelmed by information overload - reach out to the library when you have specific resources that need to be moved online or replaced, and we'll help you with targeted searches, rather than long lists of resources. 

A webinar presented by the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL). Practical tips for moving course content online and complying with copyright during the cornavirus. 

Explication of Copyright and Fair Use During the Pandemic:

• ​Although there is no precedence for copyright during a pandemic, even during normal times the courts favor the use of copyrighted information for education research and scholarship because it is a public benefit.
• Per the Public Statement of Library Copyright Specialists, “…making materials available and accessible to students in this time of crisis will almost always be a fair use.” The benefit of providing coursework to teach remotely during social distancing and when physical access isn't possible are dual public benefits which the court have favored.
• Relying on licensed resources strengthens your use under the fair use guidelines, however lack of time to check for them should not be a barrier in times of emergencies.
•  You make the final decision as to whether a use is fair. As long as you give thoughtful analysis and conclude your use if fair, you will have limited liability if you are acting with the scope of your position. If you’re uncertain, use the Fair use Checklist to help you decide.
• Librarians cannot give you legal advice but we can provide context and additional information.

Adding content to Canvas - simple tips, big impact!

Include a full citation to any articles - this required in any academic writing, and will ensure students can still find the resources even if links break.

NOTE: PubMed now includes a citation generator feature to make this even easier!

 Consider hosting videos that you are recording on YouTube: 

• Easy to embed the code in Canvas
• Automatically generates closed captions, AND allows you to edit and correct those captions
• Allows students to play recordings at faster or slower speeds - so there's less pressure on you to pace your recordings absolutely perfectly! 

Make sure you're using stable links:

Look for the the option to "copy link"  or "link to this resource"  - DON'T just copy and paste the information from your address bar - it's not a stable URL!

Links that require re-directs through the proxy are prone to errors - providing the full citation, and a stable link to the appropriate database is often the best option.  Students can get to the right place, and run a simple title search based on the citation that you provide.

Stable Link from library A-Z Database list: