Requesting Resources for Teaching

Simply send your reading list(s) to subject.team@dcu.ie including the following information:

1. Instructor name(s) and School
2. Module name and code
3. Number of students taking the module
4. Indicate which items are essential or supplementary reading

We will then prepare your online reading list(s), ready to embed in your module's Loop page. If there are items on your reading list(s) we don't hold, we will order them. Ideally we should receive your reading list well in advance of the beginning of each semester to ensure timely availability for students, but we welcome them throughout the year.

Materials such DVDs or educational resources (in the case of staff in DCU Institute of Education) can be added to MyReadingList just like books, book chapters, and journal articles.

The simple answer to this is that unfortunately publishers don’t always sell Ebooks to libraries.  Sometimes eBooks are sold on an annual subscription or as part of a wider eBook collection where the cost of these subscriptions can exceed budget availability. Etextbooks are often only available for student purchase and not for sale to libraries.  Libraries can sometimes get older editions of titles in eBook format but not always the most recent edition.

There were many key textbooks requested in recent months where only print copies could be sourced. Some of these texts are available online via third-party contractors offering access to a specific cohort of students on an annual subscription basis. The cost of each title may depend on the
number of students requiring access. So for example, a text book could cost €60 and be required by 150 students in semester one. The annual cost is typically worked out by multiplying the cost by the
number of students so for a €60 title the cost would be €9,000 per year. Even if the class size was smaller, say 20 it would cost €1,200 per year. This type of model is however simply not sustainable or affordable for many libraries at this time.

Publishers always assign licenses to the purchase of eBooks and can offer a variety of models, ranging from single user license to unlimited campus wide access. We always try to source licenses offering unlimited institutional access i.e. with no restriction on the number of students who can access it at the same time. Sometimes however, titles may only be available with a single user or three user licence. That means the maximum number of students who can access it at the same time is one or three. We have (where affordable and at a similar cost to a print copy) purchased a number of copies of eBooks where the licence was too restrictive

Yes, you can track your order(s) via the Library Catalogue. To do this, enter the title in the search box and check its status e.g. on order/received/available.

Send your reading list(s) to subject.team@dcu.ie to avail of our MyReadingList service and include all resources (books, chapters, journal articles, etc.) your students will need access to. Book chapters and journal articles will automatically be scanned as we prepare your online reading list(s) for you.

Yes, under copyright legislation you cannot exceed: 10% of a book or one chapter (whichever is greater), two articles from a particular journal issue or 10% (whichever is greater), or up to a whole journal issue if it is devoted to a particular theme - per module, per academic year.

Should an exception to the above be sought, the Library can approach the publisher to request an exception. 

Exceptions:

Second Extract Permissions Service (SEPS) - this service allows for the “purchase” of permission to copy and use an additional amount – a ‘second extract’ – e.g. another chapter from the book or another 10%.