Frequently Asked Questions

If you have questions about textbook returns, please contact us directly.  We are available on campus from Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 4:00pm Pacific Time.  250-391-2600 ext. 4263 or Toll Free 1-866-379-0873.

We accept returns on textbooks and materials within seven days of the start date of the course, accompanied by a receipt and in resalable condition.  Shrink-wrapped materials, or books including access codes or additional content cannot be returned if the packaging has been opened.

The receipt you receive at the time of purchase is our only copy.  If your books were shipped to you, the receipt should be either taped to the front of your shrink-wrapped text, or tucked inside with the Bookstore Bookmark.

If you are concerned about receipts for tax purposes, you will receive a T2202 form from the university to complete your income taxes.  It will help you calculate the credits you are entitled to.  Based on the numbers in boxes B or C, you are entitled to either $65.00/month for full time students or $20.00/month for part time students.

Please consult the Canada Revenue Agency's website for more assistance. 

We are unable to accomidate buybacks at this time, but there are several options for students wishing to sell their used texts.

• My RRU's Classified Section
• University of Victoria text buyback
• BetterWorldBooks

Due to space limitations, we only carry new copies of required texts for current courses.  If you wish to purchase used textbooks you can search online or check the RRU Classified section of MyRRU.

To ensure you are getting the correct edition, make sure to match ISBNs from your textbook notice.

Please e-mail RRUBookstore@royalroads.ca with questions about your order. For directions on how to track your shipment please see How do I track my parcel?. 

Please note that these delivery deadlines are estimates provided by Canada Post and are not guaranteed. You can find more details on the Canada Post website

Shipping Options
(All prices per total order, not per book) 

 * AB/SK/MB/QC/PE/YT/NT/NU = 5% GST   ON/NB/NL = 13%   NS = 15%

Shipping charges are per order. It is the same price to have one book shipped or several as long as they are shipped in the same package. 

We ship the same business day as receiving a completed order.  If we are missing information, we may need to follow up with you directly which could cause delays.  Please see Canada Post delivery standards for your expected delivery time.

Shipping Options
(All prices per total order, not per book) 

 * AB/SK/MB/QC/PE/YT/NT/NU = 5% GST   ON/NB/NL = 13%   NS = 15%

The Bookstore will e-mail students a tracking number. Orders shipped via Canada Post can be tracked at www.canadapost.ca. If you have any questions about your tracking information, please contact us at 250-391-2600 et. 4263 or Toll Free 1-866-379-0873.

Your credit card will be charged when your order has been processed, typically the same business day we receive your order.

We request that you do not e-mail credit card information for your own safety. Please call our secure voicemail line Toll Free 1-866-379-0873 or 250-391-2600 Ext 4263. 

When you place your order by email note that you would like to pay by cheque. We will calculate the exact cost of your order and email the amount to you for the cheque. Make your cheque or money order payable to Royal Roads University and send it to Royal Roads University, Attention: Bookstore Staff, 2005 Sooke Road, Victoria B.C., V9B 5Y2. We suggest that the cheque or money order be mailed by a trackable service. 

Yes. Please place your order with the Bookstore by e-mail during business hours and we will e-mail you when your order is ready to be picked up at the Library circulation desk during library hours. 

Yes. Please place your order during Bookstore business hours.You will receive a confirmation email when your order is ready to be picked up at the Library circulation desk. You can charge the texts to your credit card when you place the order, send a cheque or cash with the friend or family member, or have them pay with cash or their own credit card when they arrive. 

Yes, please do. Combining your orders is encouraged, provided they are going to the same address. Just let us know that you would like to use that option when you and your friend submit your orders. By combining your orders you will be charged only one shipping fee. 

It depends. Some textbooks vary a great deal between editions and others are almost identical. You will need to contact your course instructor or program office to determine if you can use another edition. 

Every published book is given both a 10-digit and a 13-digit ISBN which are unique to that exact edition of the text. The ISBN can be found on the back cover of the text or inside the book on the page containing copyright information. For books that come shrink-wrapped with additional content, the ISBN on the shrink-wrap will be different that the ISBN on the textbook.

If textbooks are covered under your sponsorship, please follow these ordering instructions.

Invoiced Sponsorships

Orders are submitted to the Bookstore by email. To place your order please reply to the "Text and Materials List" email you received from the Bookstore. If you did not receive this email please contact the Bookstore at RRUBookstore@royalroads.ca. When your order has been processed you will receive an emailed confirmation that will include the tracking number for your shipment.

Please include:

*If you would like to pick up your order on campus please let us know when you place your order and we will notify you when it is ready.

Corporate Credit Card Sponsorships

Please follow the instructions shown above for placing your order. Once your order details have been emailed to us, please have your corporate card holder call us at 250-391-2600 ext. 4263 or (toll-free) 1-866-379-0873 to provide the credit card number, expiry date and CVN.

Please note:

Library Staff do not have access to sponsorship details. Sponsored student orders must be submitted to the Bookstore by email before they can be picked up at the circulation desk in the Library building. You will be notified when your order is ready.

Bookstore office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm (PST). Orders are not processed on weekends or holidays.

For sponsorship questions please contact Student Accounts at 250-391-2600 ext 4282 or email them at: student-accounts@royalroads.ca. 

It is the right of the creator of a work, to control the use of that work.

The Canadian Copyright Act grants copyright owners the sole & exclusive right to the reproduction, performance, publication, and control over the use of their works.

Copyright includes 'economic rights' (e.g. the right to publish your work) and 'moral rights' (e.g. the right to determine how your work will be portrayed or associated.)

Note: In Canada, you do not have to formally register your work in order for it to be protected by copyright. Copyright is only one of six types of 'intellectual property:'

• Copyright
• Patent
• Trade mark
• Industrial design
• Confidential information
• Integrated circuit topography

Types of works that are protected by copyright law are:

• Literary works - print & electronic (e.g. books, journals, documents, letters, email messages, reports, computer software, forms, etc.)
• Dramatic works (e.g. videos, films, radio & TV programs, etc.)
• Artistic works (e.g. maps, art slides, architectural drawings, digital images, compilations of artistic works on a web site, etc.)
• Musical works (e.g. sheet music, songs, etc.)
• Sound Recordings (e.g. CDs, talking book tapes, sound effects, recorded seminars, etc.)
• Performer's Performance (e.g. concert performance, etc.)
• Communication Signals (e.g. radio transmission, etc.)

• New technology and increased ease of access to information have heightened awareness and concern about intellectual property.  Copyright holders monitor the Internet to find violations of their own material, and don't hesitate to contact violators, and will often demand that the offending copy be removed and/or a fee be paid to the rightful copyright owner.
• Copyright is protected by law, and it is up to each of us to use works legally.
• Copyright is meant to protect and encourage creativity by protecting creators and their works so that they can control use of their own works and realise profit from use of their works if they so choose.
• Professional work habits include respect for copyright.

Remember that what is technologically possible may not be legally possible.  Technology tends to run far ahead of the updates to the law, so it's important that you are aware of what you may and may not do.

Usually, the author or creator owns copyright in a work.  However, if an employee creates any copyrightable work as a part of their regular employment, copyright is owned by the employer.

A person working on contract should determine copyright ownership as part of the contractual agreement, drawn up before any work begins, so that disputes over copyright ownership can be avoided. 

Student work, created during the learning process, is owned by the student.  However, there may be complications if you are a master's student and your final project is being sponsored by an organization.  As part of the sponsorship agreement, just as for contract work, it is best to determine copyright ownership of work created prior to the work being done.

Note that copyright can be assigned in whole or in part to someone else, and moral rights in copyright can be waived.  If you enter into an agreement with another person or an organization for your work to be used, you can assign some or all of your rights, and to realize remuneration for use of your work as you see fit, and as is suitable to both sides.

If you wish to make your work available to others, you may find the licences at Creative Commons website helpful.

Usually, copyright exists to the end of the life of the creator, plus fifty years (termed "life-plus-50.")  While the term of protection may be longer in other countries, if you are in Canada, it is Canadian law that applies.

Note: There are many exceptions to this! Consult the Canadian Copyright Act to be certain.

Fair dealing (Sx.29) is a legal concept present in the Canadian Copyright Act that states that certain types of uses are 'fair.'  These types of uses do not require permission from the copyright owner, and are not considered to be an infringement of copyright. The uses regarded as 'fair' in the Act are:

• private study
• research
• criticism
• review
• newspaper summary.

While fair dealing  is not clearly defined in the current law, there are a few basic guidelines to determine its use in specific situations.  If you intend to reproduce a work:

• only for one of the purposes listed above, and
• you are making only a single copy, and
• the portion to be reproduced is an 'insubstantial' percentage of the original work, and
• not likely to be deemed of such 'significant value' so as to compete with the commercial market of the original work,

then you are in all probablility safe to assume that fair dealing applies.

Please note that fair dealing does not include the purpose of instruction or educational use.

See our Fair Dealing Policy and the Fair Dealing section for full details.

If you are a Royal Roads University student, the copyright office can assist you by helping you figure out if and when you need to seek permission for something you are reproducing.  While we won't pursue permissions on your behalf, we will answer your questions to the best of our knowledge, and put you in contact with publishers and copyright owners.  [Please note that we cannot provide legal advice.]

If you are a Royal Roads instructor or staff person, and you are compiling a reading or resource list for a course, you will want to pay particular attention to any work that you need to reproduce in any format for non-fair dealing use, as permission must first be cleared before reproduction.  Keep in mind also that costs may be incurred.  Please see the 'Information for Instructors' page for procedural guidelines, and contact the copyright officer if you have any questions.

You must contact rru-video-bookings@royalroads.ca if you plan to use audiovisual materials in the following ways:

• showing a video in the classroom
• showing a television show in the classroom
• reproducing AV material for a course
• streaming AV material online
• purchasing AV material for the Library collection

Use the © symbol.  In Canada you are not required to formally register your work, or even to use the copyright symbol on your work. However, it may be advisable to do so in some circumstances. Placing a copyright ownership statement on your work: (Copyright © 2002 John Doe), is a reminder to others that your work is yours and that it is protected by copyright.

Send a copy of your work to yourself by registered mail. When you receive it, do not open the envelope, but keep it on file. In this way, you can provide proof of your ownership of that work on a specific date. For greater security, this envelope could be deposited with a bank or solicitor.

Formally register your work with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. The $65 fee may be a wise business investment!

Monitor the Internet.  Do a search for the title of your work, and if you find that it has been used without your permission, you can contact the person or organization concerned to discuss the removal or licencing of your work.

• Don't post copyrighted material on the open web.
  Seek permission to post material to a website restricted to members of your class such as Moodle. According to the Supreme Court in the CCH Decision: If multiple copies of works are being widely distributed, this will tend to be unfair. Posting material to the open web is wide distribution. 
• Link to existing materials where possible.
  Linking to copyrighted material does not violate copyright. When you are linking you are not making a copy. Ethically, you shouldn't provide a link in a framed website that makes the copyright material look like it is coming from your website. Don't re-digitize material.
• Before digitizing material, first check if it is already available electronically from the Royal Roads University Library.
  If we have a licenced electronic version of a book or journal, we can probably create a persistent link so that a copy isn't made.
• Reproduce only the minimum amount of a copyrighted work needed.
  The Supreme Court has stated that "...for the purpose of research or private study, it may be essential to copy an entire academic article or an entire judicial decision." That said you increase your chances of fair dealing by using the smallest portion possible of a copyrighted work.
• Contact the Copyright Office for permission to reproduce any works for your classroom or online course.
  Fair dealing does not apply to educational or classroom use, so please contact us to clear permissions or to find legitimate online sources for your course material.  We also ask that you familiarize yourself with our Fair Dealing Policy. 

If you are an instructor:

• Confirm your required course readings list with your program office in timely fashion – 3 months is required  to ensure clearance of materials. 
• Depending on your program's usual procedures, you may update readings in Moodle. 
• Note that the instructional designer for your course will ensure a single location for your readings within the course, and will do the final quality check.

If you are a program office staff person:

• Secure confirmation of the required course readings from the instructor.  
• Depending on your program's usual procedures, you may also update the readings in Moodle.  
• Send the link(s) to course readings (which ideally should be a single location) to the Copyright Office once list is confirmed and updated in Moodle.  
• Let the Copyright Office know the format (print, PDF online, USB key, etc.) that you require for the readings.  We'll also need to know the enrolment of the course, and your cost centre code.

After the instructor or program associate updates the course site, the Copyright Office staff will:

• Clear permission for readings that will be reproduced
• Update links and references in Moodle
• Clean up html on readings page(s) as necessary
• Once the copyright process is complete, the copyright office staff will notify the instructor and program associate that the editing and permissions are done.

Reproduction of Web documents in print or electronic format requires copyright permission in the same way that print documents do. Even though they are publicly available, they are not public domain, which is a specific legal term, and indicates that the term of copyright has expired according to copyright law. 

Unless your use falls under fair dealing provisions, and unless you see a clear notice or Creative Commons license on the website indicating that reproduction for your intended purpose, you must get permission from the copyright owner to reproduce it.

Permission is granted on a per-use basis almost all of the time, so yes, even though you may have used the very same materials for another course, the permissions must be arranged again, for your specific course, for a specific number of students and period of time.

Contact the RRU Writing Centre with any writing questions including citation support!

The RefWorks Group Code is the password the identifies you as a member of the Royal Roads community. The code, RWRoyalR, is case sensitive. Make sure to type it in exactly as shown. From there, you will be asked for the username and password for your personal RefWorks account.

Help! I can't get in to the online databases - what should I do? Alumni? Use of the databases is restricted to those who are currently enrolled as RRU learners or who are employed by RRU. Learner or Staff? Now, let's first try to figure out at what point your access to the article databases is failing. Did you follow these steps?

• Start at Library home page http://library.royalroads.ca
• Choose Search for Articles.
• You will be prompted to authenticate by entering your RRU username and password.
• You should now be in a alphabetical list of our online resources.
• If you have returned to the Authentication page your ID/password may be the problem.

**Note** You only use your library barcode to renew books and place requests within the RRU Library catalogue. Now you've made it into the alphabetical listing - still having access problems? Are you having problems getting into just one or all of the databases? If you can't get into any of them, then there could be a couple of problems: our proxy server, Ezproxy, might not be working properly, or more likely, the computer or computer system that you're using to access the databases might have a firewall in place that prevents your access. This can be the case if you're encountering problems while trying to access the databases from a computer at work. Why isn't Ezproxy working for database X, while it is working for Y? The security setting on your machine may be set too high. Some of the online resources require the ability to write cookies or run javascript. If you have these functions disabled then the resources will not work. Why is Ezproxy returning a "maximum number of users reached" message? This message is more than likely coming from the database vendor. Try again later and if the message persists for more than a few hours please contact the Computer Help Desk at (helpdesk@royalroads.ca) and let them know what the error message is and what database you are trying unsuccessfully to access. Where can I find out more about Ezproxy? http://www.usefulutilities.com/ezproxy/ It is also important that your browser be set to accept cookies - many of the databases will not let you in if your browser is set to refuse cookies. It is also important to note that you cannot bookmark database access pages or results from most databases. You must link to the databases through the proxy server every time to validate that you are a licensed member of the RRU community - it may appear that you got in but the databases don't recognize your IP address without Ezproxy and so may not allow you to retrieve search results. If you're still having problems, especially in accessing a particular database, please contact the librarians at reflib@royalroads.ca for assistance.

The COPPUL card allows learners, staff and faculty to borrow books from participating Canadian university collections. To obtain a COPPUL card, you will need to have your Royal Roads ID card. You can request one in person at the Library front desk, or you can email us lrcnotices@royalroads.ca or phone us with your request (250) 391-2575. Please note, COPPUL cards can only be used in-person at participating libraries.

Libraries generally make information freely available when they can. This is why anyone can search library catalogues over the Internet to see what materials a library holds. This is also why anyone can search information that libraries create in-house, such as specialized bibliographies, training materials, etc. As a guest or an alumni user of any library, you will encounter a barrier to accessing some online library resources because these come from information service vendors who license their products for use only by the current students and staff of a particular university. Many of these products have a commercial version and corresponding price structure that we are seen to undermine if we provide alumni access. Of course this is not an ideal situation for the online researcher, but this is the legal framework in which libraries, information providers, and researchers operate. Good news is that public libraries often license similar resources for onsite and remote access by their users. Check out your public library's selection! Please also see the resources that we have collected that are available for RRU Alumni use.

Currently enrolled learners can request that books be sent to them from the RRU collection. Email the title, author, call number and your mailing address to rruill@royalroads.ca. This is a free service. Books are sent return postage pre-paid.

What are bibliographic citation managers?

Bibliographic citation managers are pieces of software that let you save and manage the results of your library research - the article and book citations you find. What really makes citation managers useful, though, is that they can also automatically generate and format your bibliographies in whatever citation style you choose (eg, APA, MLA, Chicago etc.)

You do not need to buy a citation manager while you are enrolled at Royal Roads.

The RRU Library has paid for the rights of all current learners, faculty and staff to use a web-based product called RefWorks. The big benefits of using a web-based citation manager are that you, the learner, do not have to download any software and that you can use RefWorks from any internet-connected computer.

You must log in to use RefWorks. The first time you access RefWorks you create your own personal and private account. From then on you log in using that account information. You may have more than one RefWorks account and you can also create accounts to share with classmates when you have group projects.

Refworks has very good tutorials and help files to assist users in understanding how to use the tool. They can be accessed by clicking on either the 'Help' or 'Tutorial' links at the top of the RefWorks screen. When you are exporting records from one our databases, like EBSCO, you will be prompted to enter the 'Group Code': RWRoyalR. This 'Group Code' is the password that identifies you as a member of the Royal Roads community. After entering the Group Code, you enter your account username and password.

RefWorks should be accessed from the link on the left side of the RRU library home page. This links you to a web page that further explains RefWorks and provides links to a tutorial, a PDF help guide and the RefWorks site.

The first set of shelves you see as you come down the stairs from the Circulation Desk are classified under the Library of Congress system. The first part of an LC call number consists of a combination of one or two letters and a number that indicates a subject area. Subsequent combinations of letters and numbers narrow down the subject area. The last letter and the numbers after it indicate the author or title of the book. For example:

• QK general subject area: botany
• 203 botany specific to Canada by province
• B7 specific subject area: British Columbia
• C54 author's name: Clark

Note that while the first number in an LC call number is read as a whole number [e.g. 203 above], subsequent numbers are read as decimals [e.g B7 above]. Therefore, QK 40 comes before QK 203 but QK 203.B7 C54 comes before QK 203. B7 C6.

Welcome to RRU! Please refer to the description of the Writing Centre's services that includes links to other information on the site that is useful to new students.

If you have any questions about the Writing Centre, its services, or any other writing question, please contact the Writing Centre.

The Writing Centre is located in Library 107, which is the first office to the right after the Circulation Desk.

The Writing Centre is open 10-5, PST, Monday to Friday. If you need help when the Writing Centre is closed, please look through the many resources available to you on this website!

The Writing Centre exists to help students become better academic writers, which means that the focus is on a student's development as a writer versus a one-off 'fix' for an assignment. The mandate of the centre is as follows: "The RRU Writing Centre provides instruction to RRU learners to help them achieve excellence in their academic writing. Assistance is available face-to-face, online, and/or by telephone. Services do not include proofreading or editing." At the request of the university and in agreement with the schools, Theresa doesn't proofread, edit, or review an unmarked assignment in order to ensure that she doesn't directly influence the final product, which should be a representation of the student's knowledge and understanding. Having said this, if a student is working on an essay, he/she is most welcome to contact the Writing Centre with a specific question regarding how to do something, such as how to frame a thesis statement (versus what the thesis statement should be), or apply APA rules (versus if the student's APA formatting is correct). Theresa is happy to help students learn the necessary information/skills, and then students can apply that new knowledge to their assignments. Essentially, the only question that Theresa won't answer while a document is unmarked is a version of "is this right?" Once an assignment has been handed in, Theresa can then review the assignment in detail and provide extensive feedback on the student's writing, as well as answer any questions. The student can then apply that learning to the next paper. For more information, please see Writing Centre services.

The Writing Centre is staffed by Theresa Bell, Writing Centre Coordinator. Please feel free to contact Theresa at writingcentre@royalroads.ca.

Please refer to the section on citing resources, and in particular, the APA (6th edition) information. If you have any questions, please contact the Writing Centre.

Please refer to the section on citing resources, and in particular, the information on The Chicago Manual of Style. If you have any questions, please contact the Writing Centre.

Please see below for links to pages that contain frequently-accessed resources:

Writing Centre services
“Gradschoolitis” message for new graduate students
Academic writing overview
Presentation on creating a document plan
Presentation on academic paragraphing
Presentation on commas, semicolons, and colons
Plagiarism
APA style (6^th edition), “APA Exposed” tutorial and APA Help Guide
Chicago Manual of Style
Team writing
RRU’s policy on using an academic editor