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Affordable Course Content and Open Educational Resources (OER)

Subscription-Based Journal Databases

Using resources from databases subscribed to by the Libraries can be a good way to provide authentic learning opportunities. There are several things to remember if you choose to do this:

  • Always require students to use the permalink to access materials, rather than downloading and providing the PDF. This helps the Libraries to track usage, and requires MIDAS authentication to use the resources which is required by copyright law.
  • Some databases change their content over time, so check back at the beginning of each semester to make sure that what you plan to use is still available.
  • Library resources are not free, so continue to support and thank your library :-)

In order to avoid copyright issues with re-scanning or downloading an article for your students to read, you may provide a link to articles or other items available through library subscription.

Note: If you want students to access the materials from offcampus, the URL must begin with the following:

http://proxy.lib.odu.edu/login?url=

For items in library databases, there should be a "Permalink," "Stable" or "persistent" URL, or "Document URL" in the full record from the results list. Use this URL with the proxy prefix.  E.g.,  http://proxy.lib.odu.edu/login?url=http://cac.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/40/4/403

Digital object identifiers (DOI) are available for most of the full-text materials in our collections. They provide permanent access to the materials. Use the proxy prefix with the doi so that your students can access the materials from offcamus.  E.g., http://proxy.lib.odu.edu/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/DOI:10.1093/sysbio/syr070

A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique string of characters used to identify and/or locate an electronic article or other "object."  Similar to an ISBN for books or ISSN for journals, a DOI is intended to provide permanent, stable access to or information about these electronic objects. 

Publishers collaborate with an organization called CrossRef, which maintains a database that keeps track of a current web address associated with each DOI.  Publishers are responsible for ensuring that if the web address for a document changes, the reference for the DOI is updated.

Keep in mind...  not all articles or electronic documents have DOIs.  It is up to publishers to obtain and pay for DOIs, and many, especially small publishers, may choose not to. There also may be cases where the publisher has chosen to obtain DOIs for current articles but not older ones.

For a more detailed description of what a DOI is, visit the Wikipedia Entry for Digital Object Identifiers or description from crossref, the organization that maintains DOIs.

HOW TO USE THE DOI:

  • To link to a doi, use the prefix: http://dx.doi.org/   then add the doi: 10.1016/j.joi.2015.11.008  =  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2015.11.008

Subscription-Based Video Databases

The libraries provides access to many streaming video databases that may be useful for your classes. Many allow for clipping and showing segments of videos in class, and can also be embedded into Blackboard.

Content in our video databases changes over time, so be sure to check back each semester to make sure that what you plan to use is still available.

Library eBooks

The Libraries provides access to thousands of eBooks, some of which you may be able to use for your course materials. If you find an eBook that you would like for your students to read, you will need to:

  • Check with your librarian to find out the licensing rights for the book. Most are limited to a certain number of users at a time.
  • Check back each semester to make sure that it is still available. Like other databases, many of our eBook collections change content over time.
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