Reference at Newman Library

Tag: Course Reserves

Issue Resolved: Brightspace Linking to E-Reserves and Research Guides

The problem reported on March 20, 2025, has now been resolved. Linking from course pages in Brightspace is once again leading to specific research guides and/or e-reserves pages. If you hear otherwise, please get all these details and report them to the [email protected] account:

  • Course number (essential)
  • Course title (helpful)
  • Course instructor (essential)

Links from Brightspace to E-Reserves and Research Guides Not Working

This morning, we started to see problems with the Brightspace linking system that connects course pages there to specific e-reserves course pages or to specific research guides in the LibGuides system. In most cases, those links are now all going to a generic “Research Basics” guide. Springshare is working on this problem and should have a fix soon (within 24 hours).

As a workaround, please tell students and faculty that they can still go to the main E-Reserves page on the library website and find a link to their specific e-reserves page. If they don’t know the course password, the professor should have been emailed it at the start of the semester. Students and faculty can also call the circulation desk at 646-312-1660 (when it is open) to ask for the course password.

Friday, March 21 update: As of 12 PM, the linking still isn’t fixed. Springshare is still at work on the problem.

Wednesday, April 2 update: The problem has been fixed (see update post).

Popular Textbooks on Reserve That Are Also Available Online

Mike Waldman and Roshnara Kissoon have put together a list of textbooks from our print course reserve collection that are temporarily available freely online in the RedShelf and VitalSource e-textbook platforms through May 25. Please see the “Course Reserves and Textbooks” page on the library website for more details.

LibGuides and E-Reserves Down [UPDATED]

UPDATE (1 Sept. 2016, 11:23 am) The problems mentioned below have been fixed. All pages are available again.

Springshare is having system-wide problems this morning. All LibGuides pages (which includes our databases page) and the e-reserves system are not available.

On Springhare’s Twitter account, it sounds like they’ll get it fixed soon.

Finding Print Books and Other Physical Items on Reserve

  1. Go to the “Course Reserves and Textbook” page on the library website (mouse over the “Students” menu to get a shortcut link)
  2. Click the yellow “Search Course Reserves” button
  3. You should now be in the “Reserves” module in OneSearch. Search by title, author, course number (e.g., 3040), or instructor name.
  4. Use the facets if needed to filter your results

OneSearch--facets for reserve module results

New E-Reserves System and New Course Reserves Page

On behalf of a team that includes Roshnara Kissoon, Monique Prince, Mike Waldman, and Holly Dowell, I’d like to announce important changes to e-reserves and the course reserves system overall.

E-Reserves

  • As of this summer, we no longer use Docutek to host e-reserves. We’ve switched to the e-reserves module in LibGuides.
  • There are still course passwords for each course page. Unlike the old system, you can get to the e-reserves home page (the listing of courses, instructors, etc.) without having to log in with a Baruch username and password. Once you click on a course listing, you’re prompted for a course password (the professors should have provided these to students). Once you are viewing the list of items on a page and have tried to click an item, you’ll be prompted to log in with your Baruch username and password (if you’re off campus).
  • The link on the yellow search bar for “Reserves” no longer goes directly to the e-reserves system but instead to the redesigned Course Reserves page on the library website.
  • Based on usability testing we did in May, we customized the default design to streamline access to content and to make the navigation more comprehensible.

Redesigned Course Reserves Page

  • From usability tests conducted on the search bar system in November/December 2015 and again in March 2016, we realized that users were confused by the way the website had presented e-reserves and reserves for physical items (books, CDs, DVDs, etc.) in separate systems. We redesigned the existing course reserves page (and then tested it in May) so that it would be the landing page for anyone looking for materials on reserves regardless of format.
  • To find physical items on reserve, we’ll be using the Reserves module in OneSearch (the button on the course reserves page will lead you directly there). Start your search there for books, CDs, etc. that have been placed on reserve (it’s the only place to find instructor’s copies). It’s worth knowing that there is a 48-hour delay between the time when the Access Services staff first adds an item to OneSearch’s reserves module and when it is actually findable by users.

If you have any questions about the course reserves system and service, please contact Roshnara Kissoon ([email protected] or x1669) or Monique Prince.

OneSearch: The New Way to Find Physical Items on Reserve

Monique Prince has news detailing a new, improved way to find print books and other physical items on reserve:

OneSearch now offers the opportunity to search for course reserve textbooks in a variety of ways, including by discipline, course number, faculty name, and book title. From the OneSearch interface, users can select “Reserves” to narrow their search to Reserve textbooks at Baruch. Typing in a course number or faculty name initiates a keyword search to get started, and then there are options on the left of the screen which enables you to narrow your search for more precise results.

Click on “Details” to identify the course number if that is unknown. Click on see whether it is available to borrow (it is, if you see “Available” and under “Status” you see “Look on Shelf”).

One great new feature is the “Browse Shelf” capability, which looks for books at Baruch with similar call numbers. This is especially helpful if students would be interested in an older edition of the book, located in the stacks and available for an extended loan. It can also be helpful if you want to see what other books with similar subjects might be available.

Hopefully this will be a helpful way of assisting students to see exactly what is on reserve for their course. Keep in mind that there is a difference between general course textbooks and textbooks that are reserved for a specific professor’s course. So, if Intermediate Accounting is used by multiple sections of ACC 3000, you will not also find it listed by searching for a professor’s name unless they specifically requested it. You could find it by doing a keyword search for the discipline, course number, or book title.