Before Marshall University chose to cancel face-to-face classes for the remainder of the semester due to COVID-19, many students left for spring break thinking they would return and did not bring their class materials home. Noticing that these students are left without materials, Marshall’s bookstore teamed up with RedShelf to help provide eBooks for students who need materials to continue with online classes.

RedShelf is an organization that provides e-resources for educational establishments, and the company announced it will be providing a limited number of free eBooks to students in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

“At the time many of our student-athletes went home, they were under the assumption they would be returning to campus after spring break to continue spring practice and workouts,” said Lisa Williamson, Marshall’s associate athletic director of academics. “It was later decided by C-USA and the NCAA that all practices and workouts would be canceled for the remainder of the spring semester. As things with the coronavirus progressed and the stay at home order was enacted by the state of West Virginia, we realized a number of our student-athletes did not have their textbooks with them.”

Williamson said knowing that Follett, one of the companies Marshall partners with to provide educational materials on campus, partnered with RedShelf to provide free eBooks to affected students was a relief.

“We work very closely with our student-athletes, “she said. “As soon as we learned about the partnership between Follett and RedShelf, we contacted all of our student-athletes with instructions on how they could take advantage of this opportunity.”

Kia Sivils, a sophomore basketball player for Marshall’s women’s team, said the partnership benefit a lot of students due to the circumstances.

“Some students went home in a rush just to be with their families and forgot their books,” she said. “Panicking and not having to be able to attempt their homework (because of coronavirus), RedShelf helped.”

Williamson said many student-athletes are taking advantage of this service after returning home. Sivils said even for students that do not live far from Marshall’s campus were having problems getting their materials for classes.

“My teammate complained 24/7 about leaving her books in Huntington and did not know what to do,” Sivils said. “Marshall’s campus is not far from her, but her mom did not want her to travel back and forth because she is worried about her safety. When she realized she was able to get her books online, she was relieved.”

Students wanting to know more information can visit follett.com/RedShelf. The services are not limited to student athletes.

Talor Bennett can be contacted at [email protected].