Reserves

What are course reserves?

The reserve collection makes easily available to students those materials which faculty members require their classes to use. There are two types of reserves:

  • Print reserves: These materials, which are housed at the library's circulation desk and organized by professor name and course number, circulate for short periods of time as designated by the faculty member.
  • Electronic reserves: Available online through the Moodle course management system. Please consider e-reserves if your course has a large number of students that live off-campus.

How quickly will my print reserve requests be processed?

During the semester, please allow 24-36 hours before your students need the materials for library staff to process your requests. We cannot promise to process reserve items on the weekend. Please allow extra time at the beginning of each semester to process your materials. The high volume of requests at the start of each semester can mean backlogs. As specially trained staff process reserves on a first-come, first-served basis, the earlier you bring your items to the library, the sooner they will be ready for your students to use.

What do I need to do to make sure my materials are processed in a timely manner?

To speed the processing, you must use the library's Reserve Request Form filling out the first section of the form and submitting that with the materials. You are asked to assemble and retrieve all materials yourself, as the library does not have the staff to do that work for you. You must supply any folders needed to organize your materials. Personally owned books, videos, and photocopied articles will have non-removable barcode labels applied to them. If you do not want barcode labels on your materials, please indicate this at the time the reserve request is placed.

Reserve items must be owned by Staley Library, or by the professor making the request. Copyright and FERPA guidelines must be followed when placing items on reserve:

  • Periodical articles: The original article plus sufficient copies based on the number of students in your class. Please use one copy per 10 students as a general guideline. When two or more articles from the same journal issue are needed, only one additional copy of each article is permitted.
  • Books & Monographs: Photocopies must not exceed one chapter or 10% of a publication, whichever is greater. Should longer portions be needed, you must obtain publisher's permission before placing photocopies on reserve.
  • Student-authored works: Because student-authored works are considered confidential academic records, student authors must give permission) for their works to be placed on reserve.

Learn more about copyright protections and general information. View a sample copyright permission request letter). For other information for faculty regarding copyright and classroom use, check out these resources:

What can I NOT place on print reserve for my class?

Items we will not place on reserve:

  • Interlibrary Loan items: in accordance with the Interlibrary Loan Code for the United States (Supplement, section 4.6), we are unable to place items belonging to other libraries on reserve without written proof that the lending library has agreed to such use of the material.
  • Staley Library reference materials and whole periodical issues: these items are non-circulating and therefore always available for use within the library.
  • Videos and DVDs rented from an outside source (i.e., Netflix, etc.) or other items rented commercially.
  • Consumable materials such as workbooks: due to copyright guidelines.
  • "Suggested" course readings: as reserve shelf space is limited, please place only required materials on reserve.

How will students know what is on reserve for my class?

Information about items on reserve will appear in Millikin Library Discovery's Course Reserve section. Syllabus language in course reading lists such as "item available on reserve at Staley Library circulation desk" will help steer students in the right direction.

What do my students need to know about checking out course reserves?

Students need their Millikin Student IDs to check out reserve items. Students will need to know 1) the name of the professor teaching the course, 2) the course number, 3) the title or author of the item they need to check out if there are multiple items on reserve. It may be helpful for them to bring their syllabus with them when checking out reserve materials. The majority of reserve items are loaned for 2 hour, library use only.

What policies exist to make sure reserve items are equitably shared by class members?

Please remind students that for the sake of fairness to all students in your class, the library checkout system automatically enforces borrowing time limits and calculates fines on overdue reserve materials. Students are responsible for returning reserves on time and will be billed for any materials not returned.

What happens at the end of the semester?

Please remove at the end of the semester any items which will not be used the following semester. Retrieve personal items as soon as possible.

Is there anything else I should know?

Faculty may want to check out their own reserve items for use in class. If this is the case, please notify circulation staff that you will need the items longer than the specified reserve checkout period and we will modify the due date for you to avoid fines.

What may be placed on electronic reserve?

Possible items include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • An article from a journal or other periodical
  • A book chapter or 10% of a book, whichever is greater
  • A poem
  • A story
  • An essay

Staley Library cannot include audio or video files outside of content in subscription databases. We have access to several streaming videos through platforms such as Alexander Street Press and Swank Digital Campus. Contact Amanda Pippitt for assistance with streaming audio or video databases.

Before the material can be placed on e-reserve, however, at least one of the following must apply:

  • The library subscribes to the material in electronic format
  • The library owns or subscribes to the material in print
  • The material is in the public domain
  • The material is an U.S. government document
  • The professor has obtained and can show evidence of permission from the copyright holder
  • A permission form has been signed by the student author(s) of a work
  • Use of the material is determined by the instructor to be fair use as described in Section 107 of Title 17, U.S. Code. For help in determining fair use, please see “The Fair Use Checklist.”

How do I obtain permission from a copyright holder?

Learn more about obtaining copyright permissions from the Stanford's "Basics of Getting Permission." If you determine that payment is required, payments can be made through the Copyright Clearence Center (CCC) at: http://www.copyright.com/academia/pay-per-use/

What may NOT be placed on electronic reserve?

Items that will not be placed on e-reserve include:

  • Workbooks or other "consumable" items
  • Standardized tests
  • Multiple chapters, or more than 10% of a single book

How do students access Electronic Reserves?

E-reserves will be accessible through your Moodle course(s). Access will be limited to students currently enrolled in the specified course.

What are the steps for placing something on Electronic Reserve?

  1. Faculty must follow the above guidelines for what may and may not be placed on electronic reserve.
  2. Requests must be submitted at least two (2) weeks prior to the projected date of use. Contact Amanda Pippitt, Access Services Librarian, with the information about the items you wish to place on reserve.
  3. If available through one of Staley Library's electronic subscription resources, or if a copyright compliant, free copy of the resource is available on the web, a persistent URL or link to the document should be posted rather than a scanned copy of the document. If you need assistance determining whether an electronic copy is available, please contact Amanda Pippitt.
  4. If materials are not available electronically, mail documents to be scanned to Amanda Pippitt. Scans will include the title and copyright pages of book sources and article citation information for any journal sources. Any copy originals will be returned to you through campus mail.
  5. Upon notification that the reserve items are available, please add files/links to your Moodle course and check links to make sure that they are readable.

What are the loan periods and fines governing reserve materials?

Students must present and ID card to borrow any reserve item and must abide strictly by the loan periods requested by the faculty for their reserves. These checkout periods are indicated by colored labels on the reserve items. Fines are automatically calculated and recorded by the library's computerized database, as shown below.

Loan Periods Max. Number Charged Renewals Overdue Fines
2-hour or 4-hour Library Use Only 2 1 - none if item in demand $1 per hour to a maximum of $10 per instance
1, 3, or 7  Days 2 none $10 per day to a maximum of $20 per instance

As reserves are short-term loans, patrons will not receive overdue notices for these items. Students are responsible for returning reserve items on-time in order not to accumulate fines and other penalties.