Course Reserves

Policy

The purpose of the reserve materials collection is to provide students with access to materials which the majority of the class is required to use within the duration of the semester for which the items are on reserve. It is not meant to substitute for student purchase of required course materials, except in extenuating circumstances such as the bookstore's inability to provide sufficient quantities, nor is it meant to substitute for the student research process.

The Library will place items on reserve from any of its circulating collections. Materials which are already restricted to in-Library use such as reference materials, non-circulating CCIC materials, periodicals, or items from the audiovisual collection at the circulation desk will not be moved from their present location, although they can be included on a course reserve list..

The Library will also place on reserve items belonging to individual faculty members. These items will be temporarily added to the database, secured from theft, and bar-coded.

Where feasible, items will be placed on reserve in an electronic format instead of a hard copy format.

Photocopies of articles or parts of books must be in compliance with the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. See guidelines.

Only one copy of each title may be placed on reserve per section (approximately one copy per 25 students) unless extenuating circumstance such as an extremely large section, lack of ability to purchase the required text, or an unusually short time to complete the assignment is identified.

All reserve lists will be reviewed at the end of each semester. Materials may not permanently be placed on reserve. Materials which show no usage may not be accepted for future reserve unless it can be shown that they are required readings.

Personal copies of items placed on reserve are for students in that class only. Library copies of materials may be used by any Library patron with a valid card. All borrowers of reserve materials must comply with Library borrowing policies, loan periods, and fines, whether they are students in the class or not.

Guidelines for Copies on Reserve

In order to comply with the fair use provisions of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976 the following guidelines should be followed:

Copying must be limited to one item per source. This could be one article per periodical issue, one poem from a book, or one chapter from a book.

The number of different items must be reasonable when compared to the amount of reading a student is required to do. In other words, the professor cannot use photocopies to "create" the text for the course.

A reasonable number of copies of any particular item is allowed. Reasonable takes into consideration the number of students in the class, the amount of time available to complete the reading, and the length of the reading.

A photocopy may only be placed on reserve once before copyright permission is required.

All copies must contain the original copyright notice and proper attribution.

Any requests beyond these limits must be cleared with the copyright holder and a letter of permission be presented to the Library. The Library is ready to assist you in doing this and can fund reasonable fees.

Should you need to obtain permission yourself, write to the copyright holder and include the following information:

  1. Title, author and/or editor, and edition of the materials to be duplicated.
  2. Exact material to be used, giving amount, page numbers, chapters and, if possible, a photocopy of the materials.
  3. Number of copies to be made.
  4. Use of the duplicated materials.
  5. Form of distribution (classroom, newsletter, reserve...)
  6. Whether or not the material will be sold (you may not collect more than the duplication fee)
  7. Type of reprint (ditto, photography, offset, typeset, ...)

Or, you may contact the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA. (Phone (978) 750-8400, Fax (978) 750-4470) and pay a set fee. They are not able to handle all requests however. For information on other licensing agencies or more information on copyright in general, consult the Library's Copyright page.

Electronic Reserves

When appropriate, the Library will provide electronic access to your reserve readings. This allows students to access these readings 24 hours a day from any computer with Internet access. There are three possible ways this access will be provided:

  • linking to the source on the web (if not copyright protected or otherwise restricted)
  • linking to an article in one of the Library's subscription databases
  • scanning the material and placing it on the Library server. The Library will fund reasonable fees for copyright permissions.
  • If the Library cannot provide access to the requested material, you can obtain assistance in locating an acceptable alternative.

If the material is to be scanned, you must follow the same copyright guidelines as for print copies:

  • Only one item per source may be scanned. This could be one article per periodical issue, one poem from a book, or one chapter from a book.
  • The number of total items for the course must be reasonable when compared to the amount of reading a student is required to do. In other words, the professor cannot use copies to "create" the text for the course.
  • All copies must contain the original copyright notice and proper attribution.
  • A copy may only be placed on reserve once before copyright permission is required. Permission must be sought for each term an item remains on reserve after the first.
  • Any requests beyond these limits must be cleared with the copyright holder and a letter of permission presented to the Library.

Audiovisual materials may not be placed on electronic reserve unless they are legally available in streaming format.

It is important to note:

  • if a scanned item is to remain on reserve for more than one term, copyright permission must be obtained
  • if you have several articles from the same source you should use traditional reserves or contact the Library about obtaining permission. The Library will assist with reasonable copyright fees.

You will need to provide Circulation with a "good" copy. Request to have the copy made with the photo option of the copier. If you are scanning the article yourself, PDF is the preferred format. As with traditional reserves, allow at least seven to ten working days for processing, more if possible. Materials will be processed in the order that they are received. Items with missing copyright statements and attribution will be returned for that information.

To access electronic reserves your students must have a valid Library card and a class password which we will provide to you. You are responsible for making sure your students have the proper password.

Check with your librarian for more information.

Procedures

The individual faculty member is responsible for the delivery of print materials to the circulation desk. For electronic reserves a list is sufficient. Seven to ten working days should be allowed for processing. More time will be needed if copyright permission must be sought. If a request for an electronic item is not "owned" by the Library, you will be notified of the necessity for copyright permission and fees.

The faculty member will designate which of the following reserve borrowing periods is to be used.

  • 2 hour (in Library use)
  • 24 hour (overnight)
  • 3 day
  • 1 week
  • electronic reserves

Each faculty member will be contacted at the end of the semester to see whether or not the items will remain on reserve. Personal copies removed from reserve will be returned to the faculty member.

Request Form

Reserve Request Form

If you prefer not to use a form you may e-mail your request to the Library's Course Reserves department (reserves@cod.edu) or stop by Circulation Services in the Library.