Library expands emergency access to print materials in UCalgary’s collections

Students, faculty, researchers and staff at the University of Calgary now have instant access to 1.2 million more print materials in the library’s collections. Online access is available on a temporary emergency basis through the university’s long-standing participation in HathiTrust, a partnership of academic and research institutions that offers digitized titles from the collections of major research universities.

The HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service makes it possible for authorized library patrons to obtain lawful access to specific digitized materials when the physical books are not currently available due to the temporary disruption in service.

“Our print collections are vital resources for our faculty and students. We’ve been exploring every solution during this unprecedented disruption in service,” explains Dr. Mary-Jo Romaniuk, PhD, vice-provost for Libraries and Cultural Resources (LCR).

“The HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service is one more way the library has been able to secure additional resources in digital form for our campus community until we are able to safety restore circulation of physical materials.”

Because of copyright and licensing restrictions, digital copies are limited to the number of physical copies in the library’s collection. Loan periods are one hour, which automatically renew unless there are other requests for the materials.

Online access

HathiTrust books and journals can be searched using the search box on the Library home page and will be flagged “HathiTrust online access only”. Access can also be discovered by searching HathiTrust directly, which will also provide access to other content and services.

More information is available in the library’s HathiTrust Libguide. Online assistance is also available, including live chat.

Sourcing digital alternatives

Ever since classes moved online, library staff have been working with faculty and students to source alternatives if resources they’re seeking aren’t available. LCR made many collections available as e-books through special short-term agreements with publishers.

UCalgary was also the first research library in Canada to offer limited circulation of print materials via contactless pickup for Field of Study and PhD defence students. LCR is exploring the possibility of expanding contactless pickup to all faculty and students for some print resources outside of HathiTrust. 

For more library information plus regular updates, please visit the COVID-19 information page.

UCalgary resources on COVID-19

For the most up-to-date information about the University of Calgary's response to the spread of COVID-19, visit the UCalgary COVID-19 Response website.