Fall Update for Faculty
SF State faculty, your Library is here for you this fall! We’ve compiled information that we hope will help you get what you need and support your students.
Have questions or need something from us? There’s a librarian who works with every college and department — find your library liaison. You can also email us at ask@sfsu.libanswers.com or chat with a librarian anytime.
Use course reserves to give students free access
Putting your course materials on reserve at the Library helps students succeed. This is a great way to make sure every student has access to the required reading.
You can ask us to put books and ebooks, streaming media, and interactive learning materials on reserve. The sooner you submit a course reserves request, the more likely the materials are to be available within the first weeks of Fall 2024 classes.
If you own copies of any required course materials, we welcome temporary donations of these personal items to place on reserve. We will make them available for your students to check out and return them to you after the course ends.
You and your students can find the direct link to our Course Reserves page in the OneSearch box on our homepage. And even more online course materials are available free to students through our Ebook Textbooks list, which we update each semester.
Invite a librarian into your class
Students tell us that they find library instruction valuable, and faculty members tell us students' papers and projects are of higher quality when they have had library instruction. Consider incorporating it into your classes if you don’t already!
Request a librarian-led instruction session tailored to your course and research assignment. We teach lessons on a wide range of information literacy topics customized for in-person, hybrid, and fully online classes. Special Collections & Archives also offers primary source instruction on a topic of your choice.
Please make your requests as early as possible, ideally at least two weeks before your preferred dates.
If you don’t have a research assignment but want to ensure your students are familiar with the Library and its resources, consider requesting a 60-minute Library 101 tour or a 15-minute drop-in visit for your class.
Not sure what you need? Email libsse@sfsu.edu to set up a consultation or contact your department’s library liaison.
Find teaching and learning tools for the research process
The Library has created tools and activities to help your students understand each stage of the research process — and to make scaffolding the process in your course easier.
Canvas Modules
Look in the SFSU Canvas Commons for these activities covering fundamental information literacy skills and concepts, which you can import into your course with the click of a button:
- COMM 150 Research Tutorial
- Empirical Research
- Evaluating Sources with ACT UP
- Synthesizing Sources
- OneSearch Exercise
- Research Questions and Keywords
- Using Sources in Your Writing
The Labor Archives and Research Center (larc@sfsu.edu) also has modules available in the SFSU Canvas Commons that cover topics in labor history and primary-source research:
- Oral History Toolkit: To help you integrate oral history assignments into your courses.
- Watsonville Canneries Strike, Primary Sources: A short introduction focused on primary sources.
- Watsonville Canneries Strike,1985 – 1987: A more comprehensive history of the strike.
- What is a Union?: An overview of the purpose and practice of unions and labor organizing.
- Filipino American Community and Identity in the Pajaro Valley: An overview of Filipino American history in the Pajaro Valley focused on labor, business and social organizations, foodways, and music.
Preview these openly licensed (CC BY-NC 4.0) modules and then adapt them as you see fit: change the name, personalize examples, edit point values, etc.
Librarians are available to answer questions about modules or activities and help to make them work for your course.
These resources will continue to grow and evolve, and we welcome feedback and requests. Contact the Library Student Success & Engagement Team at libsse@sfsu.edu or schedule an appointment with us to discuss.
Library Resources in Canvas
In addition to modules, your students can find links to library resources in Canvas on the default Library Resources page. You can also add direct links to research guides or databases.
Much more information here: Accessing Library Resources & Content in Canvas
YouTube Channel
Short video tutorials made by librarians on how to search the Library, get better results, stay organized, and more! Like and subscribe!
Teaching Research Toolkit
The Teaching Research Toolkit is a faculty-facing collection of resources and activities to help you scaffold the research process throughout your course.
Not sure where to start? Make an appointment and we can discuss what resources might work well for you.
Spread the word: Families are welcome here!
We’re creating more support for parenting students at the Library in partnership with Health Promotion & Wellness.
Starting this fall, we will have Kids Kits filled with a variety of age-appropriate toys, books, and activities to check out at the Book Checkout & Pickup Desk for up to four hours, Monday through Friday.
We will also keep a Kids Cabinet stocked with kid-friendly activities in the Study Commons on the ground floor for parenting students studying at the Library on the weekends.
Add the Library to your syllabus
Consider adding information about the Library to your syllabus. Two short messages are ready to use in Academic Technology’s Syllabus tool. Go to Campus Resources > See More and look for “J. Paul Leonard Library” or “Library Research Help.”
Request library resources for teaching or research
You can always suggest a new library resource or streaming media item! You can also send specific queries to your department’s library liaison.
The Library, like the rest of the University, is facing a tighter budget outlook, so our ability to acquire new items will be more limited than in past years. We will share more information soon about how we will consult with instructional faculty on refining our collections given budget constraints. Please recall that you and your students can request any materials not available locally through CSU+ and ILLiad.
Some of our subscriptions have changed this summer. Please double-check any links to resources you have used before.
Reserve a study room, meeting room, or computer classroom
You can reserve a study room in the Library for your own use or to hold office hours. You can also email librooms@sfsu.edu to request a classroom equipped with computers or a larger meeting room for an event or on behalf of a student group you advise.
Learn more about the options: Reserve a Room
Remind students they can check out laptops
We are now accepting students’ requests for semester-long laptop loans for Fall 2024 — first come, first served. Details and the link to submit a request can be found on our Laptop Checkout page.
The Research Commons also checks out laptops for up to four hours to use anywhere on campus.
For technical help or questions, students can email service@sfsu.edu with “Library Laptop” in the subject line.
Need a laptop to support your teaching? Please use Academic Technology’s Faculty Laptop Request.
Visit the Digital Media Studio & MakerSpace
Walk-in hours for the fall semester will begin on the first day of instruction. The doors of the Digital Media Studio & MakerSpace on the Library’s second floor will be open from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Faculty members, clubs, and groups can also reserve the space for class sessions and maker activities. For more information and to arrange the details, email service@sfsu.edu with “Library MakerSpace” in the subject line or contact Chris Novak, head of Library Information Technology, at cnovak@sfsu.edu.
Equipment checkout will also begin on the first day of instruction.
Share academic work or publish an open journal
ScholarWorks is the CSU institutional repository for theses, dissertations, creative works, research and scholarship. Open Journals Systems (OJS) is the CSU platform for hosting open access journals. Please contact the Digital Scholarship Center to learn more: libdsc@sfsu.edu.
Attend a fall event at the Library
We are planning several opportunities for you to discover what your Library can do for you. Come see us!
- Library 101 tours, Aug. 20 – Sept. 6: Drop in for a guided tour and an introduction to spaces, services, and resources you might not have discovered yet. We’ll review how to get started using the Library’s online tools and have time for questions.
- Get to know your local libraries, Aug. 27: Meet librarians from three nearby libraries — J. Paul Leonard Library, Sutro Library, and Merced Branch Library — and find out about free materials and support that you and your students can get from each one.
- Library Coffee Break Open House, Sept. 11: Come have a midmorning cup of coffee or tea and chat with us! Details coming soon.
- Wellness Weeks, Dec. 9 – 20: Mark your calendars and encourage your students to visit our Wellness Room on the first floor of the Library as the semester winds down. It’s a place to take a mindful study break, have a snack, or connect with campus resources to cope with the stress of finals. (You might enjoy a visit, too!)
Contact librarians for research support
We are always available to you and your students for individual research and teaching support. You can get immediate (human) assistance via the chat widget at library.sfsu.edu or schedule a time to meet with a librarian in person or by Zoom.
We love questions!
Do you have a question that wasn’t answered here? Email us!
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