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The Building May Be Closed, But Most Library Services and Resources Are Open for Business!
Dear UMass Boston Faculty, Staff, and Students,
Although the Healey Library building is closed, Healey Library staff members are hard at work behind the scenes to provide library services with as little disruption as possible to you. In other words, although the building may be closed, we’ve still got you covered! Below is a summary update on library resources and services. Please note that due to the fluidity of the COVID-19 situation, these services may be adjusted at some point in the future; refer often to Healey Library’s Support for Teaching, Learning, and Research Continuity for the most up-to-date information and FAQ. Note that some resources require you to log in first with your UMass Boston SSO credentials.
Questions?
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Library Building and Hours- The Healey Library building is closed until further notice. Thus, at this time, physical library materials, laptops, and computer labs are not available to library users.
- Library staff are providing support for all Healey Library departments remotely.
- Remote library services are offered during library operating hours Monday-Friday.
- At this time, no library services are offered on Saturday or Sundays; patrons may contact Ask a Librarian 24/7 chat for assistance during these times.
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Library Fines and Fees- Healey Library is waiving all overdue fines until the campus officially reopens.
- Please hold onto any library materials you currently have checked out, including laptops and interlibrary loan items, to return at a later date.
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Library Electronic Resources
The library’s many electronic resources are searchable and accessible through the UMBrella portal. The library’s resources number 180 databases, over 100,000 streaming videos, over 600,000 e-books, and over 100,000 e-journal titles and include:
- Kanopy: The library has invested in unlimited access to nearly the entire Kanopy catalog through the end of the academic year. Other streaming video options available to the UMass Boston community can be searched through the UMBrella portal.
- Visible Body Human Anatomy Atlas: Comprehensive, 3D atlas of the human body, including a mobile app for download. Faculty can download free worksheets and lesson plans to replicate anatomy lab environments and activities.
- MarketLine: NEW Healey Library subscription (one year trial)! Business resource which advertises a 360 degree perspective of companies, industries, countries, and cities accompanied by powerful analytics, comprehensive market data, and industry insights.
- And thousands more resources for learning, teaching and research!
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Course Reserves
Since the Healey Library building is closed, its physical collections are unavailable, including textbooks and other physical materials on reserve.
- What does this mean for faculty?
Faculty are strongly encouraged to scan course reading materials themselves as needed to upload to their course Blackboard pages or find substitutes for books and materials on reserve. See the bullet points below for options.
- What about copyright?
With the strong support of higher education copyright specialists who note that “Fair Use is made for just these kinds of contingencies,” Healey Library encourages faculty to prioritize the needs of their students over copyright concerns when providing access to course reading material during this time of educational disruption.
- How do I scan materials for my students?
If you don’t have a scanner at home, many mobile phone apps are available to create PDF scans with your smartphone! These include TurboScan, Scannable (for iPhone--linked to Evernote), and Microsoft Office Lens (for Android). After creating a PDF, upload it to your course page in Blackboard, including the following disclaimer: “This scan is being provided as part of UMass Boston’s effort to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It is for your personal use only and is only intended for use during the time when University public health measures prevent access to your personal copy or a copy on physical reserve at the library. Please discard this copy once you have access to your personal copy or to the physical copy at the library, and do not share it."
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| What other options do faculty have to replace physical reserves?
- E-book and streaming video purchases: Faculty may contact Library.Reserves@umb.edu to discuss the possibility of the library purchasing e-book copies of course reading material, or licensing streaming videos, where feasible.
- Free e-textbooks: Some e-book vendors are offering free and/or open e-textbooks to students. VitalSource is offering some of its e-textbooks at no cost to students and faculty through May 25, 2020. Users can click on the “Bookshelf” link in the top-right corner, create an account using their UMass Boston email address, browse available free textbooks, and add selected titles to their online bookshelves. (Be sure not to search or access via the “Store” link to avoid charges.)
- Users should log in, access their Bookshelf, then click on “Explore” to search titles that are available for free
- Users are limited to 7 free VitalSource titles. Once a title is borrowed, it cannot be returned and replaced, so students and faculty should search for all of their needed titles before deciding which ones to check out.
- Heavily circulated course reserves titles that are available at no cost in VitalSource through May 25 include:
- Biological Science (Freeman)
- Calculus: Early Transcendentals (Stewart)
- Concepts of Genetics (Klug)
- Intermediate Algebra (Miller)
- Managerial Decision Modeling (Balakrishnan)
- Olds’ Maternal-Newborn Nursing and Women’s Health Across the Lifespan (Davidson)
- Physical Examination and Health Assessment (Jarvis)
- Physics: Principles with Applications (Giancoli)
Single-Variable Calculus (Stewart)
- VitalSource offers many additional free textbooks that may be supplementary or complementary for faculty teaching needs - check them out!
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Library Services Not Available at This Time- Access to library laptops or computer labs in the Healey Library building
- Physical interlibrary loan borrowing (i.e. books)
- Physical library checkouts, including course reserves, books from the main stacks, and laptops
- Access to the Archives Research Room or physical archival or special collections
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Free Resources- Boston Public Library
Any student or resident in the state of Massachusetts can register for a highly useful Boston Public Library eCard to access the BPL’s extensive electronic resources remotely. These include both academic research resources as well as leisure reading and entertainment materials for all audiences (including teens and kids)! - Free E-Textbooks
Please explore the free e-textbook offerings available through VitalSource--selected titles are free to UMass Boston faculty and students through May 25, 2020--for potential supplemental course materials. (See Course Reserves section above--users are limited to 7 free titles.) - More to Come - Stay Tuned!
Many content providers are opening up their resources during this period of widespread remote learning. Healey Library staff are busily exploring these options and will provide updates via our Teaching, Learning, and Research Continuity page. If you receive any tips from content publishers, please feel free to send them to library.admin@umb.edu for further exploration!
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Best wishes to all in these challenging days, and please do not hesitate to contact Healey Library staff if we can help in any way!
Sincerely,
Joanne Riley
Interim Dean
Joseph P. Healey Library
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