Hello all and welcome to RIT!
Your RIT ID card is your library card for checking out print materials. Your RIT username (first part of your email address) and password are your credentials to access our online subscription databases and ebooks. All of the library electronic resources can be accessed on or off campus.
This page is hosted on the library InfoGuides system. I can create InfoGuides with class specific resources or subject resources as needed. I can link a specific InfoGuide to your myCourses shell. The default myCourses Navigation Bar also known as the Navbar will have an RIT Libraries link under the MORE button for direct access to related library resources and contact information. Just share your class projects with me and I will make a course guide and link it to your course shell. I can also link a broader subject guide is no special resources are needed.
I do all the work, I just need to know what information resources you would like on an course InfoGuide to support a class project.
Broader subject InfoGuides will have most resources to help the specific subjects but I can also add library resources we already have if you see they are not on a subject guide.
We make available to current RIT students, faculty and staff a robust electronic collection. This includes e-books, business databases, article databases and discovery tools. Every library varies in the resources they purchase and lease. Our business collection is shaped by questions asked, assignments in classes, and degrees offered along with available budget. We adopted e-books very early and try to buy business books in electronic format over print format. The library subscribes to Summon as its discovery layer. To browse all of the library business databases visit our Database Finder Business listings. To browse all of the databases visit the Database Finder link just below..
To find which periodicals we have in full text go to our A-Z Journal List. Search for the name of the periodical and the record will show the database it is in and the date range we have. If no record appears try also searching by ISSN to double check. If no record shows that means we do not have full text access as a subscription or in any of our leased databases. For articles in periodicals we do not have access to use our Information Delivery Service which is the name of our interlibrary loan service.
Our interlibrary loan service is branded as IDS or Information Delivery Service. More information in link below.
I am available to visit your class in-person, via Zoom or a recorded session to conduct a library instruction session. At RIT there are no required library classes. Most students get a formal introduction to library databases, search strategy and information literacy basics when the librarians are invited into classes. I shape class visits around the specific class assignment needs. Just email me to talk about your project and we can set up a date for a library instruction session. If you want a recorded session please allow a minimum of three weeks for delivery.
The RIT Library has a print reserve process available. If you would like a print book placed on reserve the process is below.
If you have an electronic item you would like to share with students in your class, you can link to it directly in your myCourses shell. If it is a library item make sure to use a Persistent Link which will work off-campus. Using a Persistent Link from a library database will guarantee you are linking to an authorized copy of an item and the library can get usage stats to help argue for continued access. I can help with this process as it varies from database to database.
Link to library items. Do not download library PDFs and upload to myCourses. This would be an unauthorized use of library resources. Use Persistent Links to make sure the library can get usage stats to help argue for continued access.
I can help you use and understand proxied Persistent Links to library items you identify. Testing links from off campus is important to make sure items can be accessed from off campus. I can test links for you.
The library does not proactively add course textbooks to our collection. But professors can request that we buy one copy of a textbook and have it placed on print reserves. Keep in mind this is a shared copy, must be used in the building, will not include electronic supplements and will not be replaced if damaged or goes missing. If you are using a non-textbook book as a course reading we may have it in print or in one of our e-book databases. Most but not all e-books are cataloged in our catalog. For example the O'Reilly for Higher Education e-book database contains many multi-user ebooks across many subjects including business. Feel free to email me the book(s) name(s) and I can confirm if we do or do not have a book.
Access to freer cloud based versions of Endnote and Refworks is available through them library. Access Refworks via Summon. Access Endnote via the Endnote InfoGuide.
The library does not purchase or offer training on citation management desktop software. Ask in your college if they purchase citation management software for your use. The library does not recommend searching databases through citation management desktop software due to the lack of sophisticated search options and access issues.
I am available for consultations in-person or via Zoom. To set up an appointment just email me to find a mutual day and time to meet. Or visit my LibCal page linked below to see my availability. Also note that the button at the top right opens my contact info and a chat box. If I am on chat the box will say Chat With Jennifer.
Books
If you have books you would like the library to acquire let me know. I can look at availability, cost, and desired format to determine what is possible. You may want a book added for class use or your own research. If you want a textbook added keep in mind it may have limitations. Some textbook companies have stopped selling print textbooks and only lease textbooks directly to individuals via their electronic platforms. Other textbook companies will sell print textbooks to libraries but the cost becomes prohibitive. Let me know what you are interested in and I can investigate the possibilities.
Journals
Most of our journals are acquired through aggregator platforms from EBSCO and ProQuest. Some publishers like Wiley, Springer, Sage and Elsevier have direct access platforms through which we access their journals. The library does not subscribe to every journal due to budget limitations. Though individual subscription rates are relatively low, an institutional subscription rate is usually in the thousands of dollars.
Because of budget limitations a journal usually needs to be cancelled in order to bring a new title onboard. We look at usage, cost, shifts in subjects taught at RIT to determine if a direct subscriptions to a journal should be renewed.
Let me know the journal titles you are interested in which we do not have access to and I can look into institutional subscription rates. Most likely I will place these titles on a wish list. Please identify if the request is based on a need for course assignments or your own research.
Databases
The most expensive resources libraries lease are article and information databases. Please let me know if there are databases you believe we should subscribe to and I can investigate costs and add these to a wish list. We look at scope (subject and how wide an audience this might be used by), audience (class use vs individual research), cost, and shifts in subjects taught at RIT to determine if subscriptions to a database are possible. Cancelling databases is usually how we can bring on new databases due to our budget limitations.
Harvard Business Review & Cases - Class Use Policy
Harvard Business School Publishing has historically restricted the use of digital Harvard Business Review articles in the EBSCO database Business Source Elite to individual use. EBSCO, our vendor for digital copies of the monthly Harvard Business Review, has informed us that articles from HBR in Business Source Elite are not for assigned course use by faculty. In addition the library does not buy Harvard case studies and has no role in the educator platform for Harvard Business School Publishing. Seek guidance from your college. The linked guide below has more information about the database use limitation plus links to our print runs and microfilm of HBR.
Use of RIT resources is reserved for current RIT students, faculty
and staff for academic and teaching purposes only.
Please contact your librarian with any questions.
