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New Instructor Guide: Course Materials

UR Essentials

In Fall 2025, the Provost's Office has decided to pilot automatic textbook billing through Barnes & Noble for all full-time matriculated students on the River Campus. 

The instructor selects the materials they require for their courses and the format preference if appropriate (electronic/print) and students pick up or activate their rentals at the beginning of the semester.

This means that getting your text selections to the bookstore on time is more important than ever! Please see the website below for more information or reach out to the Office of the Provost or the Bookstore with questions. 

Course Reserves

The River Campus Libraries Course Reserves Service allows course instructors to identify materials for which the Library should provide controlled access during the semester. This means that loan periods are shortened (2 hours to 3 days) so that more community members can share access to a resource.

Course reserves can be items in the library's collection, instructor-owned materials, or materials the library purchases to add to our collection.

Please remember to add a note or indication that class material is on reserve on your syllabus, so students are aware of their access options.

We are not able to provide course reserves for electronic textbooks, course materials that use online access codes, and streaming video only available through individual subscription platforms (like Netflix). 

Open Educational Resources

Open Educational Resources (OER) are materials for teaching, learning, and research, that are free to access, use, adapt, and share. OER can be in any format. 

What makes OER special is the "Five Rs", meaning users can:

  • RETAIN: Make, own, and control copies of the content.
  • REUSE: Use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video).
  • REVISE: Adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language).
  • REMIX: Combine the original or revised content with other open content to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup).
  • REDISTRIBUTE: Share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend).