Q. Does the Library Create Course Packs?

Saint Mary's University no longer supports the distribution of Course Packs.

The benefits of linking materials from Brightspace

Linking to materials from Brightspace has several accessibility and usability benefits:

• Materials can be accessed remotely.
• While course packs must be created in advance of the term, materials in Brightspace can be added at any time.
• As a platform supported by the university, students often expect to find materials for all of their courses in the same place.
• Online platforms often provide accessibility options such as adjusting fonts or the use of screen readers.
• Access to materials can be set to expire upon completion of a course, which helps to justify our use of fair dealing exceptions to copyright.
• Where print is still considered the preferred option, students are usually able to print materials themselves. Students are provided with a five-dollar credit in the university’s papercut system upon enrolment, which allows them to print over 40 pages of black-and-white content on campus.

The Print Centre and other third-party printers

The university's in-house Print Centre dissolved before the fall 2021 term. The print centre that is now located in the SMU Bookstore is run by Xerox, a third-party company. Unfortunately, legal advice dictates that fair dealing exceptions for education do not apply to third-party printers and resellers. Therefore, printing articles through Xerox is not permitted.

The cost of course materials

Students have consistently raised the topic of costs for course materials. Having to pay for course packs containing articles that are already freely available to students presents an additional cost and can be a barrier to access for many students.

Risk to the university

Some of the library’s subscription resources have licensing restrictions which require materials to be accessed in certain ways. Printing or posting PDF copies of materials to learning management systems (Brightspace) is often prohibited by these licenses. With few exceptions, the Copyright Office’s advice to link to resources, instead of uploading or printing, is our way of maintaining compliance with our licenses.

We understand that printing will still occur as necessary by individuals for personal use. If licensing permits and you choose to print from a university printer for your students, the cost is transferred to your department. By encouraging linking in Brightspace, instead of printing, the Copyright Office is attempting to mitigate any risk to our license agreements.