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COVID-19: Updates on library services and operations.

Course Readings and Reserves Support

There are course reserves services specific to each campus:  UTM   UTSC

The Syllabus Service assists faculty and staff at the University of Toronto in making course readings available to students in a manner that respects Canadian copyright law and existing U of T licensing agreements and policies. 

Update to services in light of COVID-19 (April 2, 2020)

Although our buildings are presently closed, the Libraries are open online - and this includes the Syllabus Service.

Our library staff will work with you to identify materials in our extensive digital collections that support course reading lists. We will make best efforts to acquire any digital content needed, such as e-books, streaming audio and video through purchase and other vendor agreements. 

To submit your syllabus

Email your syllabus with full citations (including pages numbers, if applicable) to syllabus.service@library.utoronto.ca as a Microsoft Word document, PDF, or rich text file. We also need:

  • The course name and course code
  • Your name and contact information
  • The start and end date of  your course 
  • The number of students in your course
  • *Please let us know if you have access to any print items on your reading list*

Read more about course reserves and syllabus services at other U of T libraries

Note for returning instructors: In your email, make sure that you indicate to our staff whether your course is one that has previously used the syllabus service. Our system saves information from past instances of courses and this information can be copied and updated to save time and ensure that readings are copyright compliant. Please also let us know if the course code has changed, and include a revised syllabus if necessary. 

We regret that course reserve spaces are currently closed. If you had previously placed an item on reserve, please let us know and we will do our best to acquire a electronic copy.

Assigning something for an exam? Let us know.

Priority Service Dates

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation we have decided to waive Priority Service Dates for the Spring/Summer 2020 terms. Please send your reading lists as soon as you can, and our staff will begin processing them.

 

Copyright

We will contact you about any copyright concerns in your syllabus and negotiate copyright clearance for items that exceed our current licences and fair dealing guidelines at no cost to you.

If a resource cannot be made accessible, Library staff will contact you. 

When your syllabus is ready

Your readings will be available in Library Course Reserves as a single list of your assigned course materials, making it it easy for students to to access articles, ebooks, chapter/excerpts, web links, and media resources in one place. 

Accessing your assigned readings

The Library Course Reserves list for your course can be accessed by you and your students in two ways:

  1. Access in Quercus. Click on http://uoft.me/quercus-course-reserves and follow simple steps to add the Library Course Reserves app to your course side navigation bar.

  2. Logging into https://cr.library.utoronto.ca with your UTORID and selecting the course you want to view.

Using this method will allow you to create a direct link to share with your students: 

  • Select 'switch to student mode' 

  • Copy and paste the link you see in your browser window. This is a direct link to your course that you may circulate to students in any way you like: print syllabus, email, posting to a Learning Management Environment (i.e. Quercus or Pepper), etc. The link will work only for enrolled students and for a particular instance of a course.

Uploading material on your own? If requested, we will email you the PDF files of scanned journal articles or book chapters for you to post in Quercus or a similar password-protected course management system.

We will place print items in the course reserves collection of your preferred library for the duration of the course.  

Course Reserves and Syllabus Service at other U of T libraries

Not sure where to send your reading list? Email syllabus.service@library.utoronto.ca and we can redirect your list to the appropriate library

Libraries on the downtown campus that offer this service:

Libraries at colleges and professional faculties are also ready to assist, where the course requirements are better supported by specialized library collections or local course reserve services. Please visit the individual websites of these colleges or faculties for contact details.

Syllabus Service Data Collection

Data from course outlines sent to the Syllabus Service will be used for the purposes of providing and improving University of Toronto Libraries’ services to its user groups. Access to this information is limited to staff at the University of Toronto who require this information to perform the duties of their position. This information will not be shared with third parties.