Essential textbooks are communicated to students through the Unit Readings system.

To set an essential textbook for your unit, you must create a reading list in Unit Readings and tag the book as an Essential Textbook.  Unit Coordinators only need to add textbook information in one place- in Unit Readings. The textbook information from Unit Readings will automatically appear in your Unit Outline, be communicated to students on the UWA Essential Textbooks page and be communicated to the Library.  You must add essential textbooks to Unit Readings before publishing your Unit Outline. 

At UWA, essential textbooks are defined as a text that "forms a core component of the unit, is integrated into the learning, used frequently for the duration of the unit, and linked to assessments".

Students are recommended to purchase essential textbooks for convenience due to the frequency with which they will be required to interact with the content. The Library will also ensure that a limited number of print copies of licenses of e-textbooks are made available in the Library collection.  it is recommended to select essential textbooks that can be made available online by the Library.  For advice on selecting ebooks, please contact a Librarian. 

To add essential textbooks to Unit Readings: 

1. Create a reading list
2. Add the textbook to your reading list (see instruction to add from OneSearch or add a new item to be purchased). 
3. Click on the title of the reading to expand more information
4. Click in the Add tag box to see tag options
5. Select 'Essential textbook- students recommended to purchase'
6. The Essential Textbook tag will now appear under the book details
7. When your list is complete, click Send list to Library to notify the Library the list is ready to process. 

Once the reading list is processed by the Library, the 'Essential Textbook" tag in Unit Readings is visible to students accessing the list.  The Library will place a print copy in the Library High Demand section.  Other high-use readings in you list can be tagged High Demand. It is not necessary to use both tags on one reading. 

1. Click on the + Add button on the top-left of the list. 
2. In the drop-down menu under 'New item', select OneSearch. A search panel will open on the right hand side.
3. Enter your search terms and click on the magnifying glass icon.
4. Scroll through your results to find the relevant resource you would like to add to your List. You can drag and drop this reference straight into a Section in your list, OR​
5. Click on the item in the search results. Additional options will appear under the item.
6. In 'Add to', choose List 
7. Use the dropdown to select which Section of the list to add this item to.
8. Click on the Add button.

Items in the Library's High Demand collection are available for 3hr loans (or overnight if loaned after 4:30pm), giving students more equitable access to high-use resources that are available in print/physical format.

If an item in Unit Readings is tagged with High Demand, upon receiving your reading list, the Library will:

• Move it to the High Demand Collection if it is a physical book, DVD or CD
• Purchase the item in both physical and electronic format (if available) if we don't already own a copy
• Increase concurrent user access to ebooks (where licensing permits)

To tag a reading in your list:

1. Click on the title of the reading to expand more information
2. Click in the Add tag box to see tag options
3. Select 'High Demand'

The High Demand tag will now appear under the details of the reading.

Please place textbook orders 6 weeks prior to semester to allow time for orders to be processed. To notify the Library that you require an e-textbook to be purchased, follow these steps:

1. Click on the + Add button on the top-left of the list.
2. In the drop-down menu under 'New item', click Manual entry. A panel will open on the right hand side.
3. Select the Type "E-book".
4. Enter the title and click Next.
5. Please provide as much additional information as possible about the ebook to help the Library locate the correct book, such as the ISBN, publisher, year of publication, edition. Click Next.
6. Choose which Section of your reading list to add the ebook to.
7. If this will be your unit's Essential Textbook, please add the tag 'Essential Textbook - students advised to purchase'
8. Click Add.

When you press Send on your list, the Library will purchase the item for your unit, if available.

First, search for the item in OneSearch. If it is not already owned by the library:

1. Click on the + Add button on the top-left of the list.
2. In the menu under 'New item', click Manual entry. A panel will open on the right hand side. 
   
3. Select the item Type (such as E-book, Streamed Video, Book Chapter).
4. Enter the title and click Next.
5. Please provide as much additional information as possible about the reading to help the Library locate the correct item, such as the ISBN or DOI, publisher, year of publication, edition, journal volume and page numbers. Click Next.
6. Choose which Section of your reading list to add the reading to.
7. Add Tags if required

• If this will be your unit's Essential Textbook, please add the tag 'Essential Textbook - students advised to purchase'.
• Add the Tag High Demand for physical items that will be in high use, so Library staff can place them in the High Demand 3-hour-loan section.
• Add the Tag Digitise to request a scan of a book chapter or article (within copyright allowances).

8. Click Add.

When you press Send on your list, the Library will purchase the item for your unit, if available. Where possible an ebook copy will be ordered. The number of copies ordered will be based on the number of students enrolled in the unit.

Note: Please place textbook orders 6 weeks prior to semester if possible. Recommendations for resources such as books or audiovisual material can also be submitted via the Order Details form

To add websites and open textbooks to your list:

1. Click on the + Add button on the top-left of the list.
2. In the drop-down menu under 'New item', click Manual entry. A panel will open on the right-hand side.
   
3. Select the relevant type of reading from the Type drop-down menu, eg; eBook or Website.
4. Enter the title and click Next.
5. Fill in the relevant information about the reading. (Be sure to include the URL) Click Next.
6. Choose which Section of your reading list to add the reading to.
7. Click Add.

Another option to add online readings to your list is the Cite It! bookmarklet. Once added to your internet browser bookmarks, Cite It allows you to easily save websites into your reading lists. See instructions to install and use Cite It!

Under copyright law, 1 chapter or 10% of an item can be digitised and added to Unit Readings.

Please do not send or attach a scanned document. The Library will create a copy that is accessible and complies with copyright requirements.Unit Coordinators should never upload copies of copyright works directly into their LMS.

To request the Library scan (ie digitise) a book chapter or a journal article, first add the item to your reading list by clicking on the + Add button. See the Add Item from OneSearch instructions or Add a New Item to be Purchased instructions for more information.

Then add the Digitise tag to your item:

1. Click on the title of the reading to expand more information.
2. Click in the Add Tag section and select the Digitise option

The Digitise tag will appear on the reading.

If adding a book chapter, please also change the item type to Book Chapter. Add the chapter title and chapter number or page numbers.

While processing lists, Library staff will ensure all ebooks in Unit Readings include a link that opens the ebook. Optionally, for individual ebook chapters, Unit Coordinators can add a second link, direct to the chapter. It depends on the eBook supplier as to whether links direct to the chapter are available, and how to locate them. If direct chapter linking is not available, include a Public note to advise students which pages they need to read, assisting students in navigating to the chapter.

To add an ebook chapter to Unit Readings:

1. First, add the ebook to your list by clicking on the + Add button. See the Add Item from OneSearch instructions or Add a New Item to be Purchased instructions for more information.
2. Click on the ellipsis (...) menu in the top right of the book's item record in your list and select Edit item. The Edit item menu will display to the right of your list.
3. Change the Type to Book Chapter. Enter the Chapter Title, Chapter Author and Chapter Number details.
4. If available in the ebook platform, copy the direct link to the chapter. Click on the Links and Availability tab and paste the chapter link into the URL
5. When complete, click Save.

For example, in eBook Central, after clicking on a chapter from the contents on the left, a direct link to the chapter is available from the chain link symbol in the menu above the chapter.

The library can purchase Kanopy videos at the request of unit coordinators.  If you'd like to use a Kanopy video in your unit simply add it to your reading list in Unit Readings and click Send List to Library to submit the list to the library for processing. 

Subscription access to Kanopy videos must be renewed annually.  Send your reading list to the library each time your unit is run to ensure Kanopy videos are renewed and available to your students for another 12 months. 

To move an item from one section to another: 

1. Click the '...' menu at the top right of the item.
2. Select 'Move item'
3. Choose the section to move the citation into, and click Move.

Or, drag items by hovering the mouse cursor on the left-hand side of a reading, then click and hold down the mouse button, and drag the reading to any section of the list.

You can change the order of Sections with the same "drag and drop" method.

To delete an item on your Unit Reading list, click on the ellipsis ('..') on the top right-hand corner of that item. Select 'Delete item' from the menu.