News and Announcements

Engage - eReader Transition to VitalSource [UPDATED]

Posted: 2026-05-05 15:12:34   Expiration: 2026-06-26 18:30:00

Unizin updated the Engage eReader from RedShelf to VitalSource on Friday, May 15 (from 9:30-10:30 AM).

VitalSource recently purchased RedShelf, the vendor of the eReader previously used for Engage eTexts. Because of this, the Engage eReader was transitioned to VitalSource's eReader. The transition took place on Friday, May 15 at 9:30 AM. During that time, users may have experienced interruptions when viewing Engage eTexts. The transition completed successfully and there should no longer be any interruptions in access.

Our documentation has been updated to reflect the transition; Unizin has additionally posted documentation on their website.

Some important things to note:

  • You will not lose access to any eTexts purchased in previous semesters. They will be accessed by the same methods as they are currently.
  • Highlights and notes will need to be recreated. If you have a lot of notes, we can work with VitalSource to get a print out of them. Please reach out to the DoIT Help Desk to initiate this request.
  • Unizin is still working on getting the analytics feed set up correctly. Until they're able to complete this work, the Reading Insights dashboard will be unavailable.
  • The VitalSource eReader does require 3rd party cookies to be enabled in order to work correctly (and for Safari users, there's an additional setting that needs to be toggled); more information about this can be found in this Unizin article.
  • The process for downloading your eText for offline use has changed; offline versions of eTexts need to be added to the VitalSource Bookshelf app. More information about this process can be found in this Unizin article.

Some notes on accessing your eText from Canvas:

  • Upon opening an eText in the VitalSource eReader, you will need to accept the VitalSource Terms of Use - this will only need to be completed once, when the eReader is accessed for the first time.

    Check the box and click Continue on EULA agreement

  • You may also see a "Welcome to Unizin!" pop up that provides some additional information about features in the eReader.

    Welcom to Unizin pop up provides eReader feature information

  • On the last slide, you can Learn More or Get Started - clicking Learn More will bring up all of the navigation options in the eReader. 

    Review all the eReader navigation options

    You can access this screen again at any point by clicking Help in the More Options menu and selecting Reader Overview.

If you have any issues accessing your eTexts or navigating the new eReader, please reach out to the DoIT Help Desk for further assistance.

-- Learn@UW: Rhianna Campbell