Textbooks are primarily acquired as e-books if they are available for institutional use at a reasonable cost. The library acquires e-books either as packages or as individual titles. E-textbook acquisitions can be temporary subscriptions or permanent purchases.
NB! The contents of subscribed e-book packages may change after the acquisition: titles can be added to and removed from the collection and this cannot be changed by the library. Teachers are encouraged to inform the library about all e-textbooks used on their courses. E-textbooks are always acquired as permanent purchases if possible.
Please follow these steps if you wish to make sure that a particular e-textbook is available for your students during the next semester:
1) Open your university's Finna and check the platform on which the e-textbook is available. You can see the name of the platform/database in the link:
2) To find out if an e-book is a permanent purchase or a temporary subscription, please see the table below. Temporary subscriptions need to be renewed yearly or for shorter periods of time. We encourage teachers to let the library know if a particular e-textbook license needs to be renewed for the next semester.
3) To request an e-book license to be renewed, please fill out this form.
Please do not hesitate to contact the library if you have any questions!
When selecting a new textbook, first check whether it is available as an e-book for library use and what kind of a license is available. Contact the library at infoservice@uwasa.fi, we can help you with this. It is recommended to check the material type and license before you decide to use a new textbook. The license affects, among other things, whether it is wise to use, for example, an exam for which all students need the book at the same time.
When you notice that an old edition of a textbook is no longer in use, please let the library know. We update the textbook collection so that only current editions of the books are available. You are the expert in your field!
E-textbooks acquired by the library can be either temporary subscriptions or permanent purchases. Permanent purchases do not need to be renewed at certain intervals while temporary subscriptions do. You can easily check the status of your textbooks by finding out which database they are available in. Please watch our video guide.
If you have any questions about the availability of your textbooks, please contact infoservice@uwasa.fi and we will help you!
Whether an e-book is a permanent purchase or a temporary subscription depends on the publisher and the e-book service provider. As a general rule, the license type depends on the database in which the e-book is available. For example, e-books in the databases Ellibs and Vital Source Explore are often temporary subscriptions. In the table E-book platforms by license type above, you can see more detailed database-specific information.
Even if an e-book is for sale, for example in Amazon, it does not automatically mean that the e-book is available for library use. E-books that are for library use have special licenses and are available when using university's Haka credentials or Tritonia's library card number and PIN code. Not all e-books are made for library use. If you are choosing a new textbook for your course and would like to make sure that the e-book is available for library use, please contact infoservice@uwasa.fi
University of Vaasa: If a textbook is available as an e-book, a printed teacher's copy is paid for by the unit. The teacher informs the library the name of person ( = the head of the unit, i.e., dean) who has approved the order.
The printed teacher's copy can be delivered to the teacher's work mailbox by the University of Vaasa internal mail. The teacher can also choose to pick up the book from Tritonia during customer service hours. Up-to-date opening hours can be found on Tritonia's website.
If the teacher wants the book to be mailed to their home address, it will be done as cash on delivery (handling costs 2 € + postage costs starting at 17.90 €). The teacher pays the costs when picking up the book at the post office. The teacher must provide the library with their address, telephone number and e-mail address.
The method of delivery is agreed upon separately.
University of Vaasa: If you need an e-book only for your work computer or for the unit's use, the unit orders the e-book directly from the e-book service and pays for it. E-books ordered through the library will be available for all uwasa users in University of Vaasa Finna.
The terms of use for e-books depend on the publisher. These terms determine, for example, how many people can read the e-book at the same time and what the loan period is. The library cannot affect the terms of use set by the publishers. Please contact Tritonia at infoservice@uwasa.fi if you want to check an e-book license.
The library acquires e-resources through the FinELib consortium and also directly from the database vendors. User rights for the resources are defined in the license agreements. Usually resources may be used when teaching, studying and doing research. Commercial use of e-resources is not allowed. With e-books, there are often restrictions to printing, copying, saving and distribution. Check Finna or LibGuides for resource-specific user rights or contact the library!
How do you link to e-books in my Moodle courses? What are the user rights for the e-resources? Where can I find information on copyright? This guide for teachers gives you answers to all these questions!
