Using Course Reserves
Course Reserves are educational materials that your instructors have requested the library make available for your class. The materials could be books, excerpts from books, journal articles, movies, music or computer software. Some of the items may be electronic reserves and available online from any computer!
Find out what your instructor has on reserve by looking up their last name under Course Reserves in Pegasus (ignore the Department and Course options in this search.)
The course number will be automatically listed after the name - i.e. “Doe, Jane 101”
Pick your instructor's name from the list and click on “search.” This will give you a list of all the materials your instructor has put on reserve. To get reserve materials such as books, movies or paper articles, write down the call number of the item and give it to the staff at the circulation desk. They will get the item for you.
Most reserve items must be used in the library and are due back in 2 hours. Some may be due back in 6 hours, 3 days or 7 days, depending on how your instructor has set up their reserve list. Only items that are due back in 3 or 7 days may leave the library. The overdue fine for 2 and 6 hour reserve items is $.05 per minute. The overdue fine for 3 and 7 day reserve items is $2.50 per day.
Some reserve journal articles or excerpts from books are available online. Look them up on your instructor’s reserve list - they will be marked “Electronic Reserve” in the Library Location field. Just click on the title of the item and on the next page, click on the link that says “To view, click here.” If a password is required, your instructor will give it to you in advance. For more information, please see our Guide to Accessing Electronic Reserves. If you are having trouble viewing your electronic reserves items, please see our troubleshooting guide.
Placing Materials On Reserve
What Can Be Put On Reserve?
Library owned books, personal books, exams, lecture notes, homework solutions, and photocopies of articles or chapters of books (as long as they comply with copyright law). Items may also be made available on the Web as Electronic Reserves.
Reserve Limitations
The maximum number of original titles that can be placed on reserve is 30 per undergraduate course and 75 per graduate course. Under U.S. Copyright law, the following limitations also apply to both electronic and print reserves (these limitations have been reviewed and approved by General Counsel):
- The number of photocopied titles placed on reserve should be reasonable in relationship to the total amount of material assigned for one term of the course, taking into account the nature of the course, its subject matter and leave.
- Copyright permission must be obtained for any copy that does not fall under fair use. For a description of the limitations on fair use, see the document entitled Copyright© Information as Applied to Library Reserves.
- Placement of materials on reserve cannot be used to create or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works. Accordingly, a faculty member may place no more than nine copied titles on reserve without securing permission to copy from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained even if the copies otherwise fall under fair use.
- No more than one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author and placed on reserve.
- No more than three short poems, articles, stories, essays or excerpts from the same collective work or periodic volume may be copied and placed on reserve.
Types of Reserves
Items submitted for reserves may be made available in one of two formats:
Traditional Reserves - a book or photocopy located at a library circulation desk
Electronic Reserves - an electronic copy accessible from the web
Please select one of the links above to view detailed submission procedures and access policies.
Copyright Information Required
Copyright protocols require that photocopied articles and book chapters have complete bibliographic citation information printed on the first page of text of the photocopy. Information required is:
Deadlines for Submitting Reserve Lists
Deadlines for Traditional and E-Reserves submissions vary. Please consult the detailed description of each type of reserves for further information.
Processing of Reserve Requests
Reserve materials are processed in the order received. Books and prepared photocopied articles brought to the library with the reserve request will receive priority processing. Library books needed for reserve, but currently checked out will be recalled and placed on reserve.
Try the new Online Form for Course Reserves
