FAQs When Ordering Ministry of Education and Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Publications Q1. What is the website I use to order publications from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities? A1. www.serviceontario.ca/publications Q2. I forget my username and/or password. How do I get this information? A2. Please email webpubont-edu@ontario.ca for your username and password information. If you are ordering from a school, please note that this information is only released to the principal or vice-principal. Q3. How do I search for a title? A3. In the box below Search publications: Type a maximum of three keywords, separated by spaces the search engine will ignore Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) and special characters such as quotes You may search by publication number, if known, however publication numbers do change when a publication is revised Q4. Why can t I find the title I am searching for? A4. There may be a number of reasons for this: a) You are using too many words in the search box remember to use only 3 key words when searching for a title. For example, when searching for Education for All: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy and Numeracy Instruction for Students With Special Education Needs, Kindergarten to Grade Six you can type in Education for All into the search box. Using unique key words will yield more concise search results. In the above example, kindergarten appears in fewer publications overall than education; modifying searches accordingly will improve your results. b) Check your spelling; the search will only return results for correctly spelled words. It is helpful to refer a hardcopy of the publication for the correct title and spelling. If you cannot find the item you are looking for you can send an email to webpubont-edu@ontario.ca to inquire about it. 1
Q5. I think I have found the publication I need, but I would like to see what it looks like to confirm. How do I do this? A5. By clicking on the title of the publication you will be taken to a page that shows the cover of the publication. Q6. I would like to know if the publication I am looking at is available online. How do I do this? URL A6. By clicking on the title of the publication you will be taken to a page that displays information about the publication. Scroll to the bottom and look for the following link: Click for Publication Online Q7. I am trying to order a publication, but keep getting the message: Order quantity greater than pre-defined warning limit. What does this mean? A7. This message means that the number of copies you are trying to order is not allowed. You can try to type in a different quantity or you can send an email to webpubont-edu@ontario.ca to find out how many copies your user group is allowed to order. *Please note that by November 2008 you should be able to click on the warning and the quantity you are allowed to order will be displayed. 2
Q8. I am trying to order a publication, but it has a blue line beside it. What does this mean? A8. You will sometimes see this symbol ( ) beside the title of a publication. This can be for one of two reasons: a) The title is only available online at this time. You can view the publication online by clicking on the title (see Q6. for more information) b) The item you are looking at is not sold by itself; it is part of a kit that is delivered all together. (e.g. In the image below, items 230595 and 231434 are part of item 231464. When you order item 231464 you will receive both 230595 and 231434.) Q9. I ve placed everything that I want in my shopping cart. When I click on Proceed to Checkout I receive an error message of Online Ordering is Currently Unavailable. What s going on? A9. It could be one of a couple of issues: a) Sometimes you will receive the error message if there is key information missing from your address, for example the city and province must be filled out in your address. b) Go back to your shopping cart and look for any publication(s) where there is no stock available (white circle); change the order quantity to 0 (zero) and click on Update Cart. This will remove the particular publication from the shopping cart. 3
Q10. When I checkout, the address under the delivery information is not mine. I thought my account was specifically for me. Why does this happen and what can I do about it? A10. If you work for a school board which has a number of district or field offices you may sometimes find that the address for an office you do not work at is showing up on your checkout screen. This is because all of the district or field office accounts are sub-accounts of the main school board account. If the incorrect address is appearing simply click on the blue magnifying glass beside the address and select the correct one. Q11. Under delivery method, I can choose courier or mail, which should I choose? A11. The delivery method is up to you and what needs you have. It is important to note that someone must be physically on-site to sign for and receive courier deliveries. Canada Post will always be the delivery method where rural route (R.R.) or post office box (P.O. Box) is noted in the delivery address. 4
Q12. When I review my order at Step 3, why do some items backorder and while others do not? A12. EDU determines which of their publications are allowed to backorder and which are not. Typically, publications such as curriculum will backorder as they are mandatory for educators. Other publications such as a special report may be considered a resource document; once the initial supply has run out then they will no longer be available in print, and will not be set up to allow backorders. Q13. Anyone at my school can accept the shipment; why must I put a name in the Attention line? A13. It is often the case that when an order is received at the school addressed to no one in particular, the order does not go to the person who is expecting it. By including the requestor s name, this will help ensure that the resources get to the intended recipient. Q14. Our school is moving. How do I change the delivery address? A14. Please have the principal send an email to webpubont- EDU@ontario.ca outlining the school s full contact details, including the old address, new address, phone number, etc. It should be noted when the old address expires and when the new address takes effect. Q15. A cost is showing up on my order. I thought I was supposed to receive items for free. A15. If you are viewing your shopping cart before checking out, don t worry - the system will correct this. If you are in the process of checking out (Step 2 or 3) and an amount is still shown as owing or payment method requested, then please let us know as a technical problem has arisen. Q16. I want to order one of each curriculum publication at the primary level. Why is there no catalogue of Education titles to make this easier? A16. Given the vast number of resources that the ministry produces and the frequency with which they change, it is not feasible for us to maintain such a list. Aussi disponible en français. 5