Frequently Asked Questions: Electronic Reserves

What is Electronic Reserves? Electronic reserves is a service provided by Lending Services which makes available supplemental course readings through a protected website. This service allows students to complete coursework and research at a time and place convenient to them. Only faculty and students in participating classes have access to the materials on this site.

How do I locate the readings for my class? From the Library’s homepage, select Electronic/Online Readings from the Reserve Materials link. You may search for your course readings by Course Name or Number, Instructor, or Department. Once you locate your course, click on the course number. You will be prompted for a password – your instructor will provide you with this password.

What is the password to access my course readings? Your instructor will provide you will the password to access your readings. Contact Lending Services at 973-720-3180 if you need assistance.

How do I view the readings? Once you locate your course, your readings will be listed by title, click on the article title to open the document.

What types of documents are in my reading list? Course pages may contain several types of documents:

• Microsoft Office Documents – Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access documents. You will need the appropriate software on your computer, in which case the software will automatically open when you click on the document link.
• Scanned Articles – These documents are in PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed on your computer to view and print these documents. Most computers on campus have the required software. You may need to download the free software for your home computer from Adobe's site: http://www.adobe.com
• Web Links – Instructors may link to web based documents. Click on the link.

What can I do to speed up the printing? Many of these readings are long and many of the PDF files are quite large. To speed up the printing process, we recommend printing a document a few pages at a time, for example print pages 1-3, then 4-7, then 8-11.

Where can I get assistance? Stop by the Lending Services department or contact us for help accessing Electronic Reserves: 973-720-3180 or email prudenj@wpunj.edu.