Course Material Services

VitalSource Bookshelf is a digital textbook platform that allows students and faculty to access, read, and engage with digital course materials. Bookshelf also features an e-reader that provides access to materials both online and offline on multiple devices, including tools for notes, search, highlighting, and more. 

More information about Bookshelf can be found on the VitalSource website. 

Following a College-led environmental scan, it was decided to complete a request for proposal (RFP) to ensure the College is offering our students and employees a digital resources and e-reader solution that is both highly regarded for usability and offers maximum value to the College. Multiple external organizations bid on this public RFP with industry-leader VitalSource Bookshelf scoring the highest during the evaluation process. 

All students and faculty using digital resources will be impacted by this change. VitalSource Bookshelf will be the new, enterprise-level, digital resource software and e-reader. 

VitalSource Bookshelf is being deployed using a phased approach. The planning and background work will take place in Q3 and Q4 of the 2025-26 fiscal year. It will be fully launched in Spring 2026. We will capture user feedback during this term to help make changes and improvements for the Fall 2026 term. 

Support will be provided by VitalSource with training and resource documents to assist all users as we transition through the upgrade. Both Learning and Teaching Services (LTS) and Student Support Services (SSS) are also actively supporting this project. 

Project updates will be shared as they become available on our Digital Resources Upgrade Project page. 

All digital resources that were purchased in previous terms are still valid for the duration purchased. You can continue to access these resources through your existing digital resources platform. These titles will not be migrated to VitalSource Bookshelf.

All digital resources that were purchased in previous terms are still valid for the duration purchased. You can continue to access these resources through your existing digital resources platform. These titles will not be migrated to VitalSource Bookshelf. 

You can download the Bookshelf app at: https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/p/download

Training sessions will be organized and conducted by VitalSource, Course Material Services, and Learning & Teaching Services and dates of the training sessions will be made available in the Spring and Fall terms. 

Accessibility features include: Read aloud, adjust font size, adjust display colours, highlight, bookmark, make notes, and more.