[This is the same message as was distributed on UALIB-L on March 25]
Hello everyone,
On behalf of CSU, I hope everyone is keeping as well as possible under the circumstances. There have been lots of collection-related questions and changes in the past couple of weeks. We want to thank everybody for keeping lines of communication open, and for demonstrating flexibility and good humour. This message offers an update from CSU. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to receive our weekly digest email from our Collection Information Site.
Course materials and other requests. CSU asks that you please:
- Continue referring students and instructors to this page for help with immediate (ie., current-term) course materials needs
- Continue referring current staff and students to the usual Recommend a Purchase form for requests not connected to a course
- Continue referring requests for textbooks for future terms through the ordinary “Can’t Find Your Textbook? Request It!” form, linked off the regular Course Materials page.
- Refrain from placing your own just-in-case or nice-to-have requests. Circumstances require us to focus on meeting immediate known needs within the U of A community.
- Refer any other kinds of requests to csu@ualberta.ca, for investigation and action.
“Free” offers from vendors.
- Due to COVID-19, we’re receiving many offers of temporary access to online content. It’s very possible that you’ve received some too.
- Here’s the CSU position on these offers: we will consider accepting an offer when there is a specific, known need that it will address. For example, if a vendor offer would potentially provide access to an ebook that is required for a course, we would work with the vendor to find a solution that will work for U of A students and faculty.
- Here are several factors motivating our careful approach to offers:
- Some vendor offers are redundant with online options already in our collection;
- Some vendor offers are having implementation problems that vendors themselves have not prepared for, leading to further frustration (e.g., Cambridge’s offer, then retraction, of free online textbook access);
- Some of these offers require complicated setups involving both CSU and ITS, and we need to be judicious about expending effort to enable access that will almost certainly be taken away later.
- For the above reasons, please refrain from promoting vendor offers directly to faculty and students without consulting CSU, especially offers that require Library set-up or mediation.
- We encourage promotion of our existing online collection, OERs, and so on!
Access issues.
- A gentle reminder to please submit questions about potential e-resource access issues, including possible outages, via the helpdesk system. We will investigate.
Cancellations.
- Unfortunately, because we’re entering the second consecutive year of budget reductions, CSU must continue making cancellations. Watch for more messages inviting your input within the next short while.
- CSU will communicate all cancellation decisions.
Questions and input always welcome, to csu@ualberta.ca. Thanks, and take care.