Kortext is a new e-textbook provider the Library is trialling. It provides electronic access to thousands of titles previously only available as bulky, expensive print textbooks, purchased individually by students and in consistently high demand for library borrowing.
Kortext aims to supply e-textbooks for any reading list items that the Library has been unable to source via established e-book vendors. They negotiate directly with publishers to make publications available electronically that were previously only available for library purchase as print. However, Kortext can only give us access to only "born digital" content, so anything published prior to the digital era or where the publisher holds no digital proofs cannot be sourced via Kortext. They aim to supply most publications from within the last 20 years but most consistently supply titles published since 2010. Kortext do not retrospectively digitise older print publications.
Kortext also features an Analytics Dashboard that enables tutors to access a wealth of student engagement data pertaining to all e-textbooks supplied for your module. This year the Library is running a project to determine the viability of using Analytics at Exeter. If you want to know more about this pilot study, contact the Library Data Analyst to express your interest and learn more.
Nothing! The Library is administering the acquisition of Kortext content. You don't even need to remind us to keep Kortext titles active for your module each year. For as long as we remain subscribed to Kortext, we'll roll over all requested titles each academic year until you tell us that they are no longer required for your module.
As a module tutor, the most helpful things you can do for your students are:
The Library will do the rest. However, you can see for yourself the wide range of publications available via Kortext by visiting their online store. If you spot any publications in the Kortext Store you would like to access, just get in touch and tell us what to request.
If you would like to make something available to your students via Kortext but cannot find it, please let the Library know and, as long as it was published within the last 10 years and is not too niche, there's a good chance Kortext will be able to supply it.
It depends! Currently most students do not retain access to Kortext beyond graduation. However, students are able to retain access to all textbooks acquired for a given module by registering themselves on the Kortext platform through ELE, but only if the module tutor requests this. If you would like to make use of this feature of Kortext just get in touch and tell us which modules and textbooks you would like students to retain access to, and we will add a link in the Access your Reading List section of your module ELE page:
Students need only click this link once and they will automatically be provisioned with their textbooks and registered for analytics. When clicked, students are presented with their Kortext Bookshelf, showing at a glance all the textbooks ever assigned or accessed:
Students don't need to click this link to access Kortext subsequently; they can then access the platform from ELE, their Aspire Reading List, or Library Search as before. But whichever route they choose, the platform will track students' usage of the module readings only, and you can review this usage on the Analytics Dashboard. After graduation, students will be able to continue accessing the Kortext titles selected for your module by changing their email address on their Kortext account to a personal email address.
Whilst it isn't possible to embed whole e-textbooks, discrete chapters, or individual pages from Kortext e-textbooks within ELE, tutors can instead direct their students from an ELE page to individual Kortext chapters by creating a special link using the steps below:
You can see exactly how to do this in the following short screen recording:
Don't forget to send us your reading lists! If we receive a reading list from you, Library staff will automatically request Kortext e-textbooks for your students. Click the picture above to find out more about the Library's Reading List Service.
Does your module textbook come with a companion website or online teaching resources? Publishers including Oxford University Press, Cengage, and Pearson often provide these in tandem their published textbooks, and until recently only personal access to these sites has been provided for individual users. If a title is available through Kortext, however, the Library can pay for access for all the students on your module. If you would like us to set-up access to a companion website or online teaching resources, just contact the Library Digital Content Administrator and let them know.
Click the Kortext logo to access the company website, where you can find much more information about the potential of Kortext in teaching, as well as case studies from other institutions that have partnered with the company.
Click the logo to find out why the Library has secured access to Kortext, and how it offers huge benefits to teaching and learning.
