Courses / en οlibrary project takes the cost burden out of course packs /news/u-t-library-project-takes-cost-burden-out-course-packs <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">οlibrary project takes the cost burden out of course packs</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Graeme%20resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=vI9_RtpV 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Graeme%20resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=gMImsq5E 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Graeme%20resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=kX7Ca42q 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Graeme%20resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=vI9_RtpV" alt="Copyright outreach librarian Graeme Slaght helps professors digitize their course material. (Photo by Romi Levine)"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Romi Levine</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-09-22T12:47:00-04:00" title="Thursday, September 22, 2016 - 12:47" class="datetime">Thu, 09/22/2016 - 12:47</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Copyright outreach librarian Graeme Slaght helps professors digitize their course material (photo by Romi Levine)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/romi-levine" hreflang="en">Romi Levine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Romi Levine</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/libraries" hreflang="en">Libraries</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/education" hreflang="en">Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/courses" hreflang="en">Courses</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/textbooks" hreflang="en">Textbooks</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">The zero-to-low cost course project is estimated to have saved students over $400,000</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When 1,900 University of Toronto students sat in on their first lectures of the year, they were in for a pleasant surprise.</p> <p>Their professors stood in front of the class and proudly proclaimed that students didn’t have to pay a thing for their course readings. They would be able to access all of their readings online thanks to&nbsp;the <a href="https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/copyright/services/ztlcc">zero-to-low cost course</a> (ZTLCC) project.&nbsp;</p> <p>The project connects professors with librarians to find ways of sourcing course material digitally. &nbsp;</p> <p>“Students were paying exorbitant prices for these course packs&nbsp;for things that were already available for free,” says <strong>Graeme Slaght</strong>, copyright outreach librarian at οlibraries’ scholarly communications and copyright office.</p> <p>The program, run by the copyright office, is estimated to have saved students over $400,000 since 2015.&nbsp;</p> <p>Slaght says the cost of non-digital course packs can range from $40 to over $200.&nbsp;</p> <p>The project was launched in the fall of 2014 after οdecided to manage its own copyright dealings instead of utilizing the non-profit licensing service, Access Copyright.</p> <p>Most of the material the university&nbsp;sources is part of οlibraries’ electronic collections. The rest was obtained through the fair-dealing provision of the Copyright Act, which allows academic institutions to use copyrighted material, for which&nbsp;they may not have a&nbsp;license, as&nbsp;long as they meet&nbsp;certain criteria.&nbsp;</p> <p>Professors from all three campuses can contact the copyright office if they want to participate in the project.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kate Neville</strong> did just that. The assistant professor of political science, cross appointed with the School of the Environment, took advantage of the project as soon as she began teaching at οlast year.&nbsp;</p> <p>The copyright office says each of Neville’s students has saved $118.</p> <p>“I really like the idea of using resources that οalready has to help students minimize their additional costs for an already expensive education,” she says.&nbsp;</p> <p>Neville says the program has allowed her to be flexible with the content she includes in the course.</p> <p>“One of the nice things about the online readings is you can add readings later on that puts them with the rest of [students’] readings,” she says. “I liked the idea of a streamlined system that was integrated with a course website that they already had to be checking.”</p> <p>And the library made the process easy and straightforward.</p> <p>“Rather than me having to find those resources, photocopy them, provide them as you do for most of the course pack work, they did that groundwork,” says Neville. “I’m really appreciative of the library thinking of innovative ways to help students access materials.”</p> <p>And the students are grateful as well.</p> <p>“I had a student after an exam come up to me specifically to say that they were very pleased I had used this online reading source. They were glad to not to have had to buy a course pack,” Neville says.</p> <p>Managing electronic resources is very complex and the resource librarian role is relatively new, says Slaght.&nbsp;</p> <p>“So a lot of these issues like the value for electronic resources in teaching specifically and cost mitigation, there haven’t been many librarians who have been able to do a calculation on the value," he says. "Identifying that through these courses has been making that possible.” &nbsp;</p> <p>Beyond this program,&nbsp;course reserves and syllabus services are also offered at all three campuses to help instructors deal with copyright issues, make readings available digitally and convert print to digital materials.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 22 Sep 2016 16:47:00 +0000 Romi Levine 101079 at Programs of Study, Students /node/8699 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Programs of Study, Students</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-01-07T15:47:18-05:00" title="Thursday, January 7, 2016 - 15:47" class="datetime">Thu, 01/07/2016 - 15:47</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-url field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">URL</div> <div class="field__item">/academics/programs-directory</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above clearfix"> <h3 class="field__label">Tags</h3> <ul class="links field__items"> <li><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/studies" hreflang="en">studies</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/courses" hreflang="en">Courses</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-campus field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Campus</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/7034" hreflang="en">Off Campus</a></div> </div> Thu, 07 Jan 2016 20:47:18 +0000 sgupta 8699 at