The Library is Open (Online)

Below you will information about the following library services. If you have any questions you can use the Need Help? tab on the left-hand side.

As we prepare for a virtual Fall 2020 semester, the library is focused on how we can provide access to e-textbooks and online course readings. E-textbooks and online course readings can be integrated into Canvas, and many allow students to take notes and highlight text. Currently, many textbook publishers do not provide electronic purchasing options for libraries, including Cengage, McGraw, Hill, Sage, Oxford University Press Textbooks, Prentice-Hall, and Pearson.

Because not all books are available online, library personnel can help you investigate online access to texts you want to assign, and if none exists, suggest alternatives.

Check to See if the Library Has an E-Version of Your Course Text

• Search the Library Catalog: OneSearch

Find Affordable Course Materials or Open Educational Resources

• Subject Librarians are available to help you identify high quality free or lower-cost textbooks, e-books, journal articles, or other materials to use in your courses as alternatives to expensive textbooks/course readings.
• OneSearch, the library catalog, now includes many of the Open Education Resources below. After conducting your search in the left Refine My Results menu choose Open Access under the Available at Cal State LA heading.
  
• CSU Merlot includes over 40,000 free course materials.
• Open Textbook Library via the University of Minnesota. All e-textbooks are under a Creative Commons license and are free to use and download. Many are peer reviewed by faculty members who have used these books in their own classes.
• Milne Open Textbooks (formerly SUNY Open Textbooks). Produced as part of an open access publishing initiative by SUNY Libraries, these e-books are written and peer reviewed by faculty, and they fall under a Creative Commons license.
• OpenStax by Rice University. Freely licensed e-textbooks available to read online or download in multiple formats. Also includes some classroom resources..
• ​OER Commons public digital library of Open Educational Resources.

What if We Can’t Find a Suitable Digital Alternative?

The Library adheres to accepted best practices that recognize the importance of fair use to teaching. If we are unable to find a suitable digital option for a textbook or course reading, we can scan portions of library-owned print materials for courses. Please consider the following before making a scanning request:

• • If you are able to scan course materials yourself for sharing with your class through Canvas, we encourage you to exercise your right to do so under the TEACH Act (Section 108). 
  • Somewhere in the system that you store the materials provide a notice to students that “materials used in connection with the course may be subject to copyright protection”.
  • If you do not have the time or capacity to do the scanning yourself and would like our help, we ask that you submit requests to us for only the portions of a given work that are needed for full participation in the course.

If you have questions please email reserves@calstatela.edu.

Submit Your Course Reserve Requests Here

Adapted from Claremont Colleges Library's Choosing Course Readings for Online or Hybrid Fall Courses: We Can Help! Statement

When linking to library resources online and in Canvas you want to make sure you use a permalink from OneSearch. Permalinks are internet addresses or URLs that remain consistent and do not change over time. For example, our library home page can always be reliably reached at http://library.calstatela.edu because it is a permanent link. Using the permanent link for an item allows you to share the resource without worrying about the link breaking.

Creating Permalinks in OneSearch:
Click the Permalink option right above the book or article title.

Creating Permalinks in Databases:

If you need to create a permanent link from your database search result, you need to add the library’s proxy prefix* as part of the permanent link. For example, if an article URL or DOI from a database search result like this (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2020.100033), you only need to add the library proxy prefix in front of this article URL as shown here:

 http://mimas.calstatela.edu/login?url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2020.100033

*Please note, some of the databases links already carry our proxy prefix a part of the permanent URL.

You can request asynchronous or synchronous library instruction by contacting your subject librarian. A full list of the librarians and the subject areas are here. If you are unsure of who to contact, you can also complete this form here to request a class. Please note that all library instruction sessions are being conducted virtually.  

Currently, we are only purchasing electronic resources. If there is an e-book, article, or database that you would like to purchase, email it to your subject librarian. Typically, we do not purchase textbooks because they are either not available as an e-book for the library to purchase or their price is cost-prohibitive. One alterative option is to adopt an OER textbook because they are free and easily accessible. Subject librarians can help you with locating an OER option as well.

Subject librarians are available to help locate the resources you need for your research. Additional research support services include: