Instructors, as you prepare for the Fall 2021 term, the Library is ready to work with you for whatever mode of teaching you are considering – on campus, online, blended or hybrid.
Here’s some of the ways we can help.
Course Reserves and Readings
For maximum flexibility, we are encouraging all instructors to continue using digital/online course readings for the fall term. This way, your students will be able to access any course readings no matter where they are physically located, or how often they may be on campus.
Several alternatives to print resources are available including the creation of course-specific online packs, leveraging articles, book chapter scans, and other digital material. The Reserves team is ready to work with you to develop these for your students.
An instructor self-serve option is also available, providing flexibility to instructors who wish to do this work themselves. All self-submissions will get a final check for copyright compliance, and will then be active for students.
With regard to e-textbooks, it is important to remember that most of the major publishers will not sell these to libraries. This limitation means that students who do not purchase the textbook have no alternative access to the textbook contents. You can read more about this limitation, and what non-print options are available. Liaison Librarians are also available to help you identify alternate resources.
For those instructors teaching primarily on-campus, the library is considering models for safely offering print reserves in September. We are interested in hearing from instructors that anticipate needing printed course reserves, so we can understand the level of demand and specific needs. Please reach out to Andrew Colgoni, Associate University Librarian, Student Success to start that conversation.
Open Educational Resources
Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials (including textbooks, courses, learning objects, tests, media, etc.) that you may freely use and reuse, without charge. Brock University Library, with our partners in CPI, can support faculty and instructors interested in using, adapting, or creating OERs in their courses or programs. Support for OER use is part of our broader commitment to helping faculty make course materials more affordable for students, in conjunction with course reserves.
If you’re considering incorporating an OER into your course, the Library and the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation are here to support you in finding the right resource for your course and how best to use it in your curriculum. Learn more about our OER Services.
Teaching Support
Our librarians are available to work with you on building research skills, information literacy, and related literacies into your course curriculum. Contact the liaison librarian for your program.
You may also wish to include the library’s various online learning resources into Sakai or your syllabus. We have a comprehensive list of research guides for Brock’s programs, as well as tutorials, videos and guides for common research tasks, like searching Omni, the library’s academic search tool.
Streaming Video and Film Digitization
Instructors looking to include film or video in their curriculum are encouraged to search Omni, or look through our Streaming Video Resource guide, which includes all of our subscription platforms and a number of free resources. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, we can work with you on possible alternatives. Contact us directly at libhelp@brocku.ca to learn more.
Access to Collections
The pandemic has highlighted how important access to electronic resources has been, and the library will continue to prioritize purchasing electronic resources where possible. The pandemic has also highlighted just how valued the print collection is. Through programs such as the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS), we have been able to provide digitized access to about a third of our print collection while the physical library space is closed. Instructors should note that should we be able to open the library fully, including the floors housing our print collection, we would need to discontinue ETAS. We commit to continue working with our users and responding as best we can to facilitate access to print content.
We plan on continuing Interlibrary Loan services, though it continues to be subject to availability and access at our partner libraries.