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Faculty Newsletter: Spring 2020

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IN THIS ISSUE: 

  How to Access Books
  Online Course Materials and Remote Support

  Journal Access: Online Content in the Crisis
  More Tools and Resources


What a difference a month makes! This quarter, Shields Library and Carlson Health Sciences Library are closed for what will be the longest stretch since WWII, when the library was pressed into service by the Army Signal Corps. In many ways, this, too, feels like war time, as we all pull together to get through this pandemic.

The library is focused on how we can best support your remote instruction and research — from expanded access to digital books and journals, to peer-reviewed videos of lab experiments, to copyright guidance and librarian-led virtual instruction.

While we cannot offer physical access to our book and other print collections during the closure, an important new development — announced just yesterday — is the opening of the HathiTrust Digital Library. More on that and other resources below.

I encourage you to reach out to our librarians for research or instructional support, or to contact us if there is anything more the library can do to support you.

MacKenzie Smith
University Librarian and Vice Provost, Digital Scholarship


How to Access Books 

Even as we all work remotely, we remain committed to helping you get the books you need. To that end, we have bought many of our highest-use print books as e-books; these are now available through our library catalog.

In addition, nearly half our print book collection — plus thousands more books at other UC campus libraries — are now available online to UC users through a special emergency agreement between the UC and the HathiTrust Digital Library. Other institutions, from publishers to public libraries to the Internet Archive, are also opening up their e-books in response to the crisis.

›› Learn more


 

Online Course Materials and Remote Support

The library offers a wide range of tools to support remote instruction — some we have been putting in place over the last several years, and others that are new in response to the current crisis. Check out the Remote Teaching Resources on the coronavirus page of our website to learn about:

  • Linking to online course materials in Canvas
    — including e-books, journal articles, videos and music
  • Copyright guidance for remote instruction
  • Requesting librarian-led virtual instruction
  • Options for incorporating Archives and Special Collections
  • Peer-reviewed scientific experiment videos to help virtualize lab work

›› Learn more


Journal Access: Online Content in the Crisis

Whether you are conducting your research remotely or you are on the front lines of COVID-19, we know your access to the latest literature is critical. The good news is that many publishers are temporarily making some or all of their content freely available online during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, you may find certain e-books, articles and video content available just by clicking.

Troubleshooting tips: If you have trouble accessing an article or library database remotely, start by making sure you are logged into the library VPN. If you are on the VPN but unable to access a library resource, try clearing your browser cache/cookies before starting the VPN client, or check our FAQ for other potential issues.

If you are asked to pay for an article after trying to access it via the library VPN, you can request a free copy through interlibrary loan. This also applies to Elsevier/ScienceDirect articles, as well as journals typically only available in print. The library is processing these requests seven days a week. If you need an article urgently, for example due to a patient-care need or grant deadline, denote that in the “Notes” field of the request.

›› Learn more


More Tools and Resources

The library will continue to update our Coronavirus: Library Resources webpage as the situation evolves and new resources become available. Bookmark this page or find it from the “Teach” tab of the UC Davis Keep Teaching website for quick future access.

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Announcements

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COVID19 faculty news