The FIMS Graduate Library has always been happy to help instructors with their course readings. But we want you to know that the level of service has increased.
In the past, our help centered on print reserves: you requested books, we tracked them down from various locations on campus and made them available to your students in the library.
This meant that you were responsible for book chapter scans, journal articles, website URLS, government reports, etc. In most cases, students were required to track down these resources with the bibliographic information provided in the course syllabus.
The situation improved with the adoption of OWL. Through OWL, instructors can upload PDFs of journal articles and link to webpages and other electronic resources.
But if this process is new to you, or the time it would take is burdensome, the FIMS Grad Library can take that work off your hands.
Using one of several methods, which will be outlined below, if you provide us with a list of materials, we can upload them on your behalf to your course’s OWL site.
How to Get Started
The first step is simple, just email fimslib@uwo.ca with the titles you need! You can email us your syllabus, a simple list of items or you can explore more options by submitting your request directly through the Course Readings Service.
Access the Course Readings Service
If you have an OWL site, the next step is to add the Course Readings Plugin, so that a Course Readings link appears in the left menu. If you do not use OWL, or if your site has not yet been set up, log in to Course Readings with your Western Identity.
After logging in (or clicking the Course Readings link), select a course from the “Current Courses” table or “View upcoming courses” to add or manage readings for that course.
To upload Your Syllabus:
The following steps are optional. You can simply email us your reading list, syllabus or an individual item request. But if you’re more comfortable making the request from within OWL, these are the steps to follow:
- Log in to the Course Readings service
- Choose a current or upcoming course
- Select “Add Course Readings”
- Choose the “Syllabus Service” form
- Upload your syllabus as a Word or PDF document
To add items individually:
- Choose a current or upcoming course
- Select “Add Course Readings”
- Complete the request form based on the item’s material type
Note:
- New purchases, items to be acquired via Interlibrary Loans, and items requiring copyright clearance may take longer to be made available
- You must submit individual request forms for items you intend to supply, e.g.: personal copies of books or media, previously scanned books or articles, etc.
- Ensure your syllabus includes complete citation information
Additionally, please note that our stacks are closed for browsing. If you would like to consult items available in the FIMS Graduate Library to determine appropriateness for your courses, please send us a list and we will gather the items and make them available to you.
If you have any questions or if you require assistance at any point in this process, please do not hesitate to get in touch via fimslib@uwo.ca.