Library > Circulation > Reserves > Bb ERes linking

Library Home

HELIN Catalog

Databases A-to-Z

Liaison Librarians

Creating a Link to ERes from Blackboard

If you have a Blackboard course site, we recommend that you create a link to your course reserve list.

There are two ways to create a link from your Blackboard (Bb) course to an article or course list in Electronic Reserves (ERes). Only students registered for your course in Blackboard will be able to access the ERes articles for your course.

The simplest way is to create a link that will appear in your list of Course Documents. See Part I of these instructions for this method.

Some faculty embed these links into their syllabi, which requires a little more work. Part II addresses this method.

Part I: Create a link from External Links

Preparation:

Email the Circulation Department (reserves@wheatonma.edu) with your course number and course title, and ask for the Web addresses of your ERes documents or course list.

Create a link from your Bb course:

1. Log into your Bb course.
   • Go to the Control Panel of your course.
   • Click on External Links.
   • Click on Add Item.
2. In another window, open the email message from the Circulation Department.
   • Size and postion the windows so you can easily move between them.
3. Click anywhere in the email window, to make it active.
   • Click and drag over the address of ONE article or the address of the Course Reserve List, to select it.
   • Click on Edit/Copy to put it in your "paste buffer".
4. Click anywhere in your Bb window, to make it active.
   • Under Link Information, fill in the information:
   • Name: type the title of the article (or an identifier such as Reading 1) or type Electronic Course Reserve List (or an identifier)
   • URL: put the address from your "paste buffer" into that box.
     • Macs: Hold down the Apple key and type v
     • PCs: Hold down the Ctrl key and type v
   • Description: is optional.
   • Under the Options menu, click YES for both
     • Visible Link
     • Launch Item in External Window
   • Click on Submit
5. Test the link by going out to the course level of Bb.

Part II: Embed a link into a syllabus.

Note: Students must access your syllabus through Bb for these links to work. If you email the syllabus as an attachment, the syllabus will look fine, but the links to ERes articles will not work.

Preparation:

1. Write your syllabus in Microsoft Word 2000 or later. If your formatting includes columns, please format using tables, not rulers or indents. Your formatting will be easier for the web browsers to interpret if you use tables.
2. Email the Circulation Department (whereser) with your course number and course title, and ask for the web addresses of your ERes documents or Course Reserve List.

Adding a link to your Word Document:

1. Open your syllabus in Microsoft Word.
2. In another window, open the email message from the Circulation Department. Size and position the windows so you can easily move between them.
3. Click anywhere in the email window, to make it active.
   • Click and drag over the address of ONE article or the address of the Course
   • Reserve List, to select it.
   • Click on Edit/Copy to put it in your "paste buffer".
4. Click anywhere in your Word window, to make it active.
   • Click and drag over the title of the article, to select it.
   • Click on Insert/Hyperlink.
   • Click in the box labeled: "Type the file or web page name".
   • To put the address from your "paste buffer" into that box:
     • Macs: Hold down the Apple key and type v
     • PCs: Hold down the Ctrl key and type v
   • Click on Save.
   • Note: The identifier or the title of the article should now be blue and underlined. If you have many links, please go to Step 5 now, to be sure the link works.
   • Repeat for each ERes article.
5. Click on File/Save As.
   • At the bottom of the dialog box, in the field named : "Save as type"
   • Select Web Page (*.htm, *.html)
   • The name of your document will stay the same, except for the HTM ending.
   • This extension is very important in Bb. Do not change it.
   • Click on Save.

Upload your syllabus to Blackboard:

1. Follow the standard procedure for posting a document in Blackboard, by going into the Control Panel for your course.
   
   FYI, your HTM syllabus will open directly in the Bb windows, and will not download from Bb to the student's computer, as Word documents sometimes do.
   
   
2. Test the link by going out to the course level of Bb, and selecting your syllabus with the buttons and menus, as your students would do.
   
   
3. To return to the syllabus click on the Back button.