Accessible Textbooks/Title II Compliance
In light of the Title II DOJ ruling, Milne Library would like to proactively assist faculty in obtaining accessible versions of course textbooks by offering information and guidance.
Using SUNY Incremental Funds, the Library has the opportunity to purchase accessible versions of course textbooks and required course texts ahead of the April 2026 deadline.
Milne Library will be ordering electronic versions of texts currently on Course Reserve, starting in the fall 2025 semester. Please be aware that not all textbooks have been published as ebooks. If this is the case, faculty will have to contact the publisher directly.
Faculty can expect to receive an email with more information about which texts have been purchased as ebooks and which texts will require contact with the publisher.
If you would like book(s) to be available to students as ebooks, which are not currently on Course Reserve, please submit a purchase request to the Library, and follow these steps:
1. Select “Electronic Book” in the “Format” section of the Purchase Request Form.
2. Select “Yes” to the question “Is this text required to meet an Accessibility need?” on the Purchase Request Form.
After submitting a purchase request, faculty can expect an email from Milne Library with a stable link for the purchased ebook or notice that an ebook was not available. In this case, faculty will need to contact the publisher directly.
Please note that ebooks are not placed on Course Reserve like a print book. Faculty can embed the direct link to the ebook in their syllabus or BrightSpace.
When placing purchase requests for books, it's helpful to plan early and place orders ahead of the semester to allow time for order processing and activation/receipt.
Copyright Compliance
Faculty members bear the legal responsibility for complying with copyright laws and obtaining copyright permission from the copyright owner. Faculty must follow the Fair Use Guidelines of the Federal Copyright Law.
If you have questions about copyright compliance:
- See our Information about copyright
- Call us at 245-5594
- Email us: libraryhelp@geneseo.edu
General Purchase Requests
In the case that the Library does not own or license a resource that is needed for teaching and/or research and for which IDS (Interlibrary Loan) will not suffice, faculty are welcome to submit a purchase request. Requests for print and electronic books and streaming film access are usually honored unless the Library cannot locate a vendor for the item or the cost is prohibitively high. The person who submitted the request will receive an email confirmation that the purchase was made or an email with an explanation as to why the item was not purchased within a couple of business days.
Requests for subscription resources (i.e. journals and databases) will be followed up with an email from the head of collection management. Subscriptions require an ongoing annual payment for continued access so the Library evaluates requests for these types of resources more closely.
For journals, the Library will compare the estimated cost effectiveness of a subscription versus the cost to fill requests for articles using IDS (Interlibrary Loan) and the anticipated need for access (how often and by how many faculty members and students will IDS requests be submitted for articles if a subscription is not pursued). In some cases, it will be more cost effective and better service to faculty and students for the Library to subscribe to a journal. In other cases, it may be more cost effective and acceptable to ask faculty and students to submit IDS (Interlibrary Loan) requests for needed articles.
