ERes FAQ for Students
The purpose of ERes, OHSU Libraries Electronic Course Reserves, is to make reserve materials available 24 hours, 7 days a week anywhere in the world. ERes also expands the kinds of materials instructors can currently place on reserve, such as PowerPoint presentations and web links. Users may view and print or save for later use. Due to copyright restrictions, copies of entire books are not available in electronic reserves. These must still be checked out at the Circulation Desk. We hope you will find this a time saver and a more complete resource than the traditional reserve desk. Please feel free to give us feedback by emailing us at eres@ohsu.edu
Who can use ERes?
Are hard copies of reserve materials still available?
What kind of hardware/software will I need?
How do I find course materials on ERes?
Why do I need a password?
I can't view documents
I can't connect to ERes
I am having printing problems
Who can I contact with questions?
Who can use ERes?Due to licensing and copyright restrictions, only OHSU faculty, students and staff are allowed access to ERes.
Back to the topAre hard copies of reserve materials still available?
If your instructor has provided the Library with hard copies, you can still check out and make photocopies of paper reserve materials as usual.
Back to the topWhat kind of hardware/software will I need to view the electronic reserve material?
To view Electronic Course Reserve documents, you will need:
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- A Windows PC or a Macintosh
- PC:500 MHZ or higher with a minimum of 128 Mb of memory, 100 Mb of free disk space,a graphics card with 16 Mb of memory,and a 56K or higher modem.
- Mac:500 MHZ or higher, 128 Mb of memory, 100 Mb of free disk space, and 56k or higher modem.
- Please note: the higher your modem speed, the more quickly your documents will load.
- Connection to the Internet
- On-campus: through OHSU's network
- Off-campus: through your individual ISP (Internet Service Provider)
- Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or other World Wide Web client.
A copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader for Windows or Macintosh. This plug-in is already installed on all library computers. The majority of the files in ERes are PDF (Portable Document Format) files, which may be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader software.
If you are working on a computer that does not have Acrobat Reader installed and you want to access these readings from off campus, you will need to install the Acrobat Reader as a plug-in on your own web browser. The reader is free and can be downloaded from: Adobe Acrobat Reader
- A computer which satisfactorily runs Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox should be sufficient for downloading Electronic Course Reserve PDF files.
How do I find course materials my instructor has put on electronic reserve?
Electronic Course Reserves are available to students officially enrolled in any class that is participating in ERes. Your instructor will distribute a password for each course that has items on electronic reserves. Your instructor is the only person who can give you this information. The library does not have access to course passwords.
To access course materials:
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- Go to http://ohsu-eres.lib.pdx.edu/eres/
- Click on Electronic Reserves and Course Materials.
- Choose the course by either selecting department or instructor. You can also search by course name or document name. Click on the "Go" button.
- Access the course page by clicking on the course link.
- Enter in the password, read the copyright notice and click on the "Accept" button.
Note: The password is case-sensitive. If your login is denied, check to make sure you are using the correct case.
- You are at the course page. click on the folders or document you want to view.
Why do I need a password?
All items are restricted to protect the copyright holder and require a password to access. The materials are to be used for course purposes only. The user assumes liability for any infringements of copyright law. For more detailed information on copyright issues, go to OHSU Libraries' Copyright Resources page.
Back to the topI can't view documents. What can I do?
OHSU Libraries' staff has found that documents formatted in WordPerfect do not always open in ERes. We recommend that faculty and students do not use Corel (WordPerfect) applications because of this problem. Microsoft applications work well in ERes.
If you are trying to view a link, it is possible that the server is slow or down. Try again after a few minutes. Occasionally, links dissapear. If this happens, contact your instructor.
If you cannot open a .PDF document, your computer may not have Acrobat Reader loaded. Please refer to Hardware/Software specifications for instructions on downloading Acrobat Reader.
Back to the topThe server is down! I can't connect to ERes. What should I do?
If the server is down, please call the Main Library's Circulation Desk at 503-494-3460. If the library is closed, please email OHSU Libraries Electronic Reserves
Readings may be available at the circulation desk at the Main Library.
I am having printing problems. What can I do?
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- If you are trying to print a .PDF document, make sure you are using the latest version of Adobe's Acrobat Reader.
- The type and memory of the print you are using can affect printing. DeskJets and DeskWriters are extremely slow in printing scanned files. Try to use a laser printer for these files.
- Try printing one page at a time. Your printer's memory may be too small.
- Try printing to a newer printer. Macintosh owners, please note: A number of users have reported problems printing .PDF documents with the LaserWriter Driver version 8.4 Try using an earlier or later version.
- Try saving the file to disk before printing rather than opening it "on the fly." This requires that you configure your browser to Save rather than Launch Application for the file type "application/pdf." This can usually be done in the "Helper Applications" options.
- If some lines on each page are getting cut off it may be because you are running MacOS version 8. The default paper size is "Letter Small." Change this setting to "US Letter" in the File/Page Setup. This should resolve the problem.
- Finally, printing ultimately depends on the functionality of your local or network printer.
Who can I contact with questions?
- If you have questions about the course readings, contact your instructor.
- If you have problems accessing, viewing or printing course materials on ERes, please email OHSU Libraries Electronic Reserves.
Policy Contact: Judith Norton. Last updated February 8, 2008 by the OHSU Library Web Managers. Please send comments, questions, and reports of problems to library@ohsu.edu or use the Library's feedback form.