Library Resources

Did You Know?

Your CSU library has a wealth of free resources and expertise available to both you and your students.

  • Your campus library can provide access to the highest quality electronic textbooks, online scholarly journal articles, streaming audio and video, and other materials for instructional uses -- all at no cost to your students.
  • Your library’s collection of electronic books and journal articles can be especially useful in upper division classes where free or low cost textbooks that align with the more specialized curriculum are often scarce.

CSU Libraries

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Saving Students Money by Using Library Resources

What You Can Do

  1. Start with your syllabus and consider your learning objectives for each component of the course.
    1. Are there library resources such as eJournals or eBooks that could be combined as a substitute for textbooks?
    2. For advanced classes, consider having your students find the course materials as part of developing their research and information literacy skills within your discipline .
  2. Search your library's website to locate the online, full text resources to which your library subscribes.
  3. Make an appointment with your library’s reference or instructional librarians affiliated with your discipline. Your librarian can guide you to finding the best materials using power databases and discovery tools and often can offer best practices on how to incorporate those materials into your online course.
  4. Contact your campus AL$ Coordinator to see if there is a “Free eTextbook” program in the library.

Making Library Resources Available within your LMS Course

Once you have identified the free library resources you would like to incorporate into your course, you will want to make them available to your students in the most seamless way possible without having to leave your current learning management system.

  • You can distribute your online library resources and arrange them into a reading list for your students, providing simple, seamless access for students both on- and off-campus using database tools provided by your library.

Looking for Resources to Help Students Improve their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy Skills?

  • If students are going to be successful using digital content and searching for quality educational resources, they need to practice the requisite skills.
  • The CSU has organized a wealth of open educational resources and CSU licensed materials that you and your students can use to improve their skills in effectively and efficiently using information and communication technologies.
  • To learn more, visit the MERLOT ICT Literacy Community This link will take you to an external website in a new tab.

Open Access Journals