Find & use course materials

Accessing content online

Whether on or off campus, sign in to library search to see the most complete set of results. (Signing in also lets you request holds, access your library account, keep track of resources you’ve found for future use, save search criteria, and set up alerts to notify you when we get new material matching your search criteria.)

When off campus, you'll be prompted to sign in with your UA NetID and password to access library content. Or you can download Virtual Private Network (VPN), free for students and instructors. The VPN provides a secure connection with the UA network. It requires UA NetID+ Two-Factor Authentication, providing another layer of security.

Can't connect? See connecting to library resources for common problems and solutions, or contact us.

Finding course materials

We have lots of print content, online resources, streaming video, and primary sources that we encourage instructors to use in their courses.

By using library-provided or open content, you'll save students the cost of expensive textbooks. To learn more about open educational resources (customizable and free to download, print, copy, and share), contact open education librarian Cheryl (Cuillier) Casey.

Books

  1. Go to Advanced search
  2. Type in your author, title, or keywords
  3. Limit Material Type to Books
  4. Select Search

From your search results, filter to Available in the Library for print books or Full Text Online for ebooks.

Some ebooks limit the number of people who can view them at once. Contact your librarian before using it in your class. Learn more about finding and using ebooks and the importance of submitting required textbooks through the UA BookStores' textbook adoption process.

To find open ebooks without publisher restrictions, add the Open Access filter in your library search results for ebooks. Or search OER repositories directly (the Open Textbook Library is a great place to start).

Articles

  1. Go to Advanced search
  2. Type in your author, title, or keywords
  3. Limit Material Type to Articles
  4. Select Search

We also recommend finding a relevant subject guide and using recommended databases in your field.

Streaming video

Use our guide to finding films, which lists a variety of streaming options.

To search for specific video titles in library search:

  1. Go to Advanced search
  2. Type the title of the video in the search box
  3. Change the Any field drop-down menu to Title
  4. Select Search
  5. Look for a result with Audio Visual as the material type. DVDs are listed separately from streaming video. For streaming video, look for the green Available online > link.

Not all Kanopy films have been added to library search, so you’ll need to search the Kanopy Streaming Video database directly.

Each term you plan to use videos in a course, submit a request using the library's online form. Streaming video often can't be purchased outright and must be licensed annually by the library, so we need to know if it will continue to be used in courses before extending the license. To learn more, read about video streaming.

Other resources

Can't find what you need?

Ask us for help or contact your librarian. You can also request materials.

Digitizing print content for courses

Through the library's free document delivery service, we can digitize limited portions of in-copyright articles and book chapters without permission of the copyright holder, as long as they’re required readings made available only to students in your class (such as through D2L Brightspace or a password-protected website) and the amount requested does not exceed the limits allowed under fair use. Fair use guidelines advise limiting the amount to one article per journal issue or one to two chapters per book. Using these guidelines, we can scan and send you digitized articles or chapters. Larger portions of some works may still be fair use, depending on the context.

If you're assigning more than 1-2 chapters (but not the whole book), Fast Copy’s Class Notes can provide copyright clearance and sell print or digital course packs to students. (It may be less expensive for students to rent or buy a used copy of the book, or to use inclusive access).

If the whole book is needed, ask the UA BookStores about inclusive access (the cost of digital content is added to students' bursar accounts, unless they opt out). If an alternative title might work for your class, we can help you find free-to-use open educational resources or other library-licensed ebooks.

Learn more about fair use and copyright in instruction with our interactive tutorial.

For more information on copyright or making a fair use evaluation, see our guidelines for instructors or contact copyright librarian Ellen Dubinsky.

Linking to library content from your course

Links can break, so you need a permalink to the resource to place in D2L Brightspace or wherever your course content resides. This is a persistent link that won't break from off campus. D2L Help Pages for instructors provide detailed instructions on adding content, adding multimedia, and modifying content (select the > to expand each topic).

To get a URL using library search:

  1. Find the content and select the green Available online > link. This will take you to the item in its database.
  2. Look for a link titled "Permalink," "Copy link," or "Copy direct link"
  3. Selecting that link will usually copy the URL to your clipboard. Otherwise, you can highlight and copy the URL.
  4. Paste the URL into our ezproxy tool. This will add an ezproxy prefix to the URL, making access from off campus much easier. (Note: Only use the ezproxy tool with the direct link to the content, not the PERMALINK from the library search page [which starts with https://arizona-primo.hosted]. Adding an ezproxy prefix to library search's PERMALINK will result in a security warning error.)
  5. Paste the URL generated by the ezproxy tool in your course site
  6. If you need help creating a URL or can't get a URL to work off campus, contact your librarian

If you're using a library database, how you find the URL varies:

  1. Find the content and go to the full version of the article, ebook, or video
  2. Follow steps 2-6 above

To add a URL for course content to your D2L Brightspace course site, follow these steps:

  1. Select Content from the navbar within your course site
  2. In a module, select the Upload/Create button
  3. Select Create a Link
  4. In Title, enter the item's title or your own description
  5. In URL, paste the URL (found using the steps above or provided by the library)
  6. Check the Open as External Resource box
  7. Click Create

It's best to link directly to content rather than uploading PDFs. An exception is with document delivery (digitized chapters and articles we email to you). The links we email you expire after 30 days, so it's best to upload the PDF to D2L Brightspace.

Shortening links

Permalinks are often really long. Use TinyURL or Bitly if you need to display a permalink in your syllabus or elsewhere. It will convert a long URL to a much shorter one.

Required Readings Shelf

The library doesn't have textbook reserves, but we do offer a small shelf for print materials that meet certain criteria. Learn about your options.

Library Tools

A "Library Tools" link appears in the top toolbar of D2L Brightspace course sites by default, unless a college or instructor has removed it. It contains subject-specific library resources and ebook versions of required textbooks. Work with your librarian to customize the content (Library Tools in Law and Health Sciences course sites aren't fully customizable yet).

Library Tools screenshot with links to library resources
Library Tools in D2L Brightspace