Frequently Asked Questions

What are my options for providing access to course materials for students?

There are a lot of choices. The best option depends on factors such as the type and cost of the material. UW Libraries licensing agreements and copyright are factors for using electronic or print copies of materials.

I would like my students to read a wide range of material that is not in one textbook. What are the options?

There are several good ways to provide access to course materials for your students. The best option depends on the material itself.

Placing print books or other physical materials on reserve at one of the UW Libraries' reserve units works best for optional readings, small classes, or when the selections are fairly short. It does not work well when 50 students are competing for one book during a short period of time. COVID-19 UPDATE: With user safety and equitable access in mind, no physical materials will be placed on course reserves until further notice.

The UW Libraries licenses many electronic journals, books, and streaming media for UW affiliates. Electronic materials that have been licensed by the UW Libraries can often be used in support of courses without additional copyright permission.

If material is not licensed electronically, reserve use without permission from the copyright owner is generally limited to a single chapter or article. The instructor is responsible for complying with U.S. copyright law. See the UW Libraries guidelines for copyright and reserves for details.

Course packs work best for long readings, a large number of readings, or repeated use of non-licensed, copyrighted materials. They also provide students with a convenient, bound copy of the course materials. Students pay copyright permissions fees and photocopy costs. Create and print course packs at the Seattle and Bothell campuses. On the Tacoma campus, contact the UW Tacoma Copy/Mail Center.

What about my syllabus, class notes, tests and papers?

As long as you own the copyright you can place material  your course's Canvas site. Students own the copyright for papers they write for your class. Student work may also be protected by FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) in addition to copyright law, so you must get student permission in writing before sharing their work.

For UW licensed electronic materials, can I upload the .pdf to Canvas?

If the license does not allow you to download the pdf for reserves, you must create a link instead. In most cases, the url that displays at the top of the page will work on campus only. Logging in to a campus web site or portal with a UW NetID does not automatically mean that any resources a user tries to access will be proxied. To access the readings from off campus, you need to create a stable URL that forces the user through the UW Libraries proxy server.

To create a proxied URL, prepend http://offcampus.lib.washington.edu/login?url= to the actual URL. For example, If you want to make the link for ProQuest Databases (http://www.umi.com/pqdauto) available from off-campus, the URL will look like this: http://offcampus.lib.washington.edu/login?url=http://www.umi.com/pqdauto. More information

Some of the URLs in the Libraries licensed resources are not stable. Learn how to construct stable URLs

Can I just link to an e-book in Canvas or course website if the library owns/has licensed it?

Using e-books for a class is still a developing model. Some vendors allow the Libraries to license their books for an unlimited number of concurrent readers. Others allow only one reader at a time, similar to using a print copy of a book. Students who are sharing (essentially) one copy of a book may not always have access when they want it, especially right before an exam.

How do you know the difference?

E-books provided by Project MUSE, JSTOR, Wiley, ClinicalKey, AccessMedicine or AccessPharmacy allow an unlimited number of concurrent readers and work nicely for classes. Other vendors are more restrictive.

For more information see our guide to E-Book Collections or consult your subject librarian if you have questions about linking to an e-book from another provider.

What are my options for music, images or film?

• Seattle Campus: Contact your subject librarian
• UW Bothell Campus Library: Contact us at reserves@uw.edu
• UW Tacoma Library: Contact us at taclibav@uw.edu

What's the deal with 'Open'? I keep hearing about it but I like to have the terms explained.

It can be confusing! From Open Textbooks to Open Access to Open Pedagogy to Open Educational Materials, this short video from Robin DeRosa from Plymouth State University is an excellent introduction.