Faculty: Course Reserves

What are course reserves?

Course reserves are textbooks, articles and other supplemental reading materials that instructors place on hold at the library for their classes. Course reserve materials usually have a limited loan period to ensure availability to students in the class. Course reserve materials can be the instructor's personal copy, a departmental copy or library materials.

Why do I want to put books or articles on reserve?

• Putting assigned reading materials on reserve makes them readily available to your students. You can make sure that your students have access to the textbook and other supplementary reading materials you assigned for the class.
• Putting the textbook on reserve allows access to those students who cannot afford to buy it.
• The textbook may not be available in the first few weeks of the semester. Placing a copy on reserve gives your students access to read the assigned reading so that your class schedule will not be affected.
• The library does not purchase textbooks for its collections.

How long can my student check out a course reserve?

You designate the loan period for each item. Reserve materials are available for limited loan, usually 2 hours in the library (preferred), overnight, 3 days, or 7 days.

How do I place materials on course reserve?

1. Bring the materials to the Library's reserve desk at the Main Campus (Michael Zenkus, LB 212) or the Chico Center Library (Dan Buzan, CHC 219).
    
2. Fill out the Reserve Request Form. Please fill out one request for each course. It is important to specify the loan period and the date the material should be removed from the reserve collection.
    
3. To ensure your material is available to your students in a timely manner, please allow at least 5 days for processing your reserve material.
    
4. If you teach the same course at a different location in a new semester, you can request to have your reserve materials sent to the new location. (e.g,. from the Main Campus to the Chico Center)
    
5. You can pick up your personal reserve materials after the date you specified for removal from the reserve collection, or we can send the materials back to you via campus mail by request.
    
6. Questions, contact Michael Zenkus at 879-4022 (Main Campus) or Dan Buzan at 879-4366 (Chico Center).

Items that violate copyright will not be placed on reserve. More information on academic copyright rules can be found here. 

Copyright Guidelines for Photocopied Reserve Materials

1. The following photocopied items may be placed on reserve:

• one book chapter;
• one article from a periodical issue;
• one short story, short essay or short poem from the same author or collective work;
• one illustration, graph or diagram from a book or periodical issue.

2. The materials copied shall be for one course and for one semester only.

3. Multiple copies of a copied item are allowed at the rate of 1 copy per 20 students in class, up to 3 copies total, not to exceed 9 instances of such copying per semester, and for one semester only.

4. Any consumables such as workbooks, exercises, or standardized tests that are available for purchase cannot be placed on reserve.

Copyright Guidelines for Film, Video and Sound Recordings on Reserve

1. CDs and DVDs can be placed on reserve.
2. VHS tapes will not be accepted as the technology has become obsolete and is no longer supported by the Library.
3. Only the original copy of CD or DVD may be placed on reserve.
4. Burned CDs and DVDs will not be accepted unless the original video or recording was produced by the instructor or the instructor has obtained permission for reproduction from the copyright holder.
5. Other burned CDs and DVDs of copyrighted material will not be accepted and will be returned to the instructor.

Copyright Guidelines for TV Program Recordings on Reserve

1. Recorded television programs transmitted by network television and cable stations for general public may be placed on reserve.
2. The recording can be shown only in the first 10 consecutive school days after it is originally recorded from a broadcast.
3. The recording must be destroyed within 45 calendar days after the program was recorded.
4. The recording should be labeled with program title, recording date, destruction date, and name of the instructor.
5. If an instructor wants to keep a television program on reserve for a longer period, the instructor should obtain permission from the copyright holder or purchase a legal copy to be placed on reserve.