ERIS - Electronic Reserves Information System

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why Electronic Reserves?
2. Why isn't my course/professor listed?
3. Why is the material password protected?
4. Where can I access this?
5. What software do I need?
6. Where can I get the Adobe Acrobat® Reader software?
7. I forgot my password ... where can I get it from?

Why Electronic Reserves?

There are several reasons:

• Electronic reserve materials are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any computer that can connect to the Internet.
• Making materials available electronically removes the need to make special trips to the library just for reserve materials.
• The library is running out of space in the Circulation/Reserve area.

Why isn't my course/professor listed?

This is a new service, and we're really still in the trial period. We selected several professors from various departments to get a feel for the process. We are planning on adding materials for other classes as the semester continues and we will be on an even larger scale in the coming semesters.

Why is the material password protected?

There's a very simple answer to this - copyright. Under current copyright law, we can make these materials available electronically only to a limited, specific group - in this case the students of the class in question.

Where can I access this?

The short answer to this is - anywhere you can use a computer that connects to the internet. In fact, since you can also copy these materials to disk - you can access them anywhere you have a computer.

What software do I need?

You'll need a couple of pieces of software to access these materials. You'll need a Web browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer, Lynx, etc.) and you'll need Adobe Acrobat® Reader. Versions are available for virtually every operating system and computer. Best of all - it's free if you download it! But to save time they are also available to IUN students/staff/faculty from the IUN Bookstore on the IUware CD-ROM for the low cost of $5.

Where can I get the Adobe Acrobat® Reader software?

You may already have the software on your computer, because Adobe Acrobat® Reader is rapidly becoming standard software for internet users. If you're not sure if it is installed on the computer you are using, try viewing one of the .PDF (Adobe® Portable Data Format) files. If you do not have the software, there are two places you can get the Adobe Acrobat® Reader software:

• The software is included on the IUware CD-ROM available to all IUN students/staff/faculty at the IUN Bookstore for the low price of $5. Other programs on the CD include a telnet package (access IUCAT from home), virus protection, e-mail client, web browsers, and more. The nice thing about this method is that you don't have to wait for the software to download.
• The Adobe Acrobat® Reader software is freely available from Adobe via the Web. Versions are available for download to work with virtually every operating system and computer type. You should be aware that the program is from 4-6Mb in size (depending on the version you need) and so can take a while to download. With that in mind

I forgot my password ... where can I get it from?

You will need to contact your professor to get the password for your class.