Notice: Due to ongoing construction, 4 East is currently closed to the public.  To obtain items located on 4 East, please place an online request for the item to be paged for you using the ‘Place Request’ button in the catalog. Please visit our Circulation FAQ page for assistance in using our catalog.
Notice: Due to ongoing construction, 4 East is currently closed to the public.  To obtain items located on 4 East, please place an online request for the item to be paged for you using the ‘Place Request’ button in the catalog. Please visit our Circulation FAQ page for assistance in using our catalog.
View Alert(s)

Simplifying Course Pack Creation

Preparing Your Own Course Pack

Starting the Process

To begin researching for your course pack, it may be helpful to use some of these resources

Where We Come In

Once you have an idea of the selections you want to use, please submit a complete bibliography to us. For tips on what details to include in your bibliography, please consult our Bibliographic Tips page. As soon as we receive your bibliography, we will immediately begin the process of obtaining copyright permissions for the selections you submit. At this stage, you do not need to have master copies of each selection for us.

If scanning from hard copy material is required, our staff can complete that for you for no additional charge.  If the selections are a part of the Main Library holdings and available, we can retrieve the copy and scan the material for you, provided we have a sufficient description of the content needed for the pack (page ranges, chapter number, etc.)

We will send you a quote for the unit price of your course pack based on royalties and estimated printing costs. When we have cleared the price with you, we can continue with production. It is routine for us to produce a proof copy for you to review before the full run begins printing, to capture any errors. Below are a few options to consider for the presentation of your course pack.

The Basics

Consider including a table of contents and contact information for faculty and instructors. In addition, please try to prepare your course pack master to have these standard requirements:

Submitting masters in electronic format

  • PDF file format is preferred
  • When producing the PDF, set Default Settings to “Press Quality” and uncheck “Rely on system fonts only; do not use document fonts”. Doing so will ensure that the output will be in high quality and the fonts will appear in your final printed product as they do on your computer.

Submitting masters in hard copy

  • Should contain original 8.5”x 11” materials or clean legible copies without any black columns
  • All materials should be printed on the pages, avoid gluing or taping materials onto pages
  • Use a 1” left margin for binding or duplication on three-hole paper
  • Use 20-lb white bond, one side only, in preparing originals
  • Use black ink, blue will not reproduce
  • Avoid using Post-It® notes to affix instructions; the residue left on paper often appears on copies

About Us

Our program serves faculty by producing high quality course packs complete with copyright clearance and affordable prices. We already serve about one third of Michigan State’s faculty and we hope to expand our services to you. We are committed to making sure every one of our customers feel they are receiving the individual attention they deserve. As part of the Spartan community we value higher education greatly, which is why in order to keep prices down, we do not work for profit.