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Traditional Reserves: A Guide for Instructors

Course Reserves Form | General Policies & Guidelines | What Can be Placed on Reserve? | What CanNOT be Placed on Reserve? | To Place Materials on Reserve | Submission Deadlines | Removing Materials from Reserve

General Policies and Guidelines

The Murphy Library Resource Center maintains an active reserve collection for course materials at the circulation desk. Requests for reserve material should be directed to Circulation Services located on the main floor of the library.

Only materials that are required reading should be placed on reserve. Number of reserve copies should be consistent with the number of students enrolled in class and projected use of the material. Circulation Services reserves the right to control the number of copies, photocopies, etc. in light of copyright and Fair Use considerations.

What Can Be Placed on Reserve?

  • Murphy Library circulating books –
    Copies of Murphy Library circulating books will be placed on reserve upon request. Call numbers should be specified when the list is submitted. The library will purchase copies of books (except textbooks) that you wish to use for reserve. Because sufficient lead times are needed, contact the Acquisitions Librarian for information on order and processing time frames.
  • Personal copies of books, articles, reports, etc. –
    The library will accept copies of books, articles, reports, etc. provided by the faculty member. Barcodes will be placed on all items. The Library is not responsible for loss or damage to personal materials. Replacement Policy.
  • Limited copies of textbooks from textbook rental –
    The Library will pick up textbooks from Textbook Rental Service for use on reserve. Please check that Textbook Rental carries the title in the quantity specified. The reserve collection cannot be used as a substitute or alternative to textbook rental. Therefore, we will not place on reserve one copy per student of the basic class text with an extended loan period.
  • Student papers if the faculty member has obtained & submitted written permission from the student.  Student Paper Release Form.

What CanNOT Be Placed on Reserve?

  • Consumables intended for one-time use (i.e. workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets, answer sheets, etc)
  • More than one article from the same issue of a journal or newspaper*
  • More than one chapter from the same book (except when several chapters represent a small portion of the entire work)*
  • A photocopy or printout of an entire book or play
  • Reserve systems should not include any material unless the instructor, the library, or another unit of the educational institution possesses a lawfully obtained copy.
  • No books will be placed on reserve which have been checked out from another library or which have been ordered through Interlibrary Loan or Universal Borrowing.
  • Murphy Library reference books or periodicals

* All photocopies placed on reserve are subject to restrictions outlined in the U.S. Copyright Law. Copying should never be used as a substitute for purchase. All photocopies placed on reserve must include the following citation information:

*Books - Author, title, publisher, year
*Journal articles - Author, title, journal title, volume, issue number, date

Copyright information should be indicated at the bottom of the first page of text.

Photocopies must be provided by the instructor and should be marked as indicated below:

*Course

*Author of article

 *Copy Number
*Instructor *Title of article  

Circulation Services will provide manila folders for materials; ring binders are to be provided by the instructor.

Murphy Library reserves the right to refuse to place an item on reserve (paper or electronic) if we believe doing so violates the fair use principles of copyright law.

To Place Material on Reserve

Submit the following information using the form available at the circulation desk or our online reserves form:

  1. Instructor's name
  2. Department and course number
  3. Listing of materials by author's last name and title
  4. Type of material: text; photocopy; personal copy; call number if library
    copy
  5. Number of copies for each item
  6. Loan period

Loan Periods Available

*two hour (library use only)
*one day
*three day
*seven day

Reserve items are restricted to these 4 loan periods. Circulation Services will work with the instructor to assure that an appropriate loan period is selected.

Submission Deadlines

Reserve requests may be submitted any time, and will be processed in the order in which they are received. We encourage instructors to submit lists and materials before the start of each semester. At the beginning of the semester, when requests are numerous, it may take up to one week to process materials. At all other times we request a minimum of 2 to 3 days to process new items. Students should not expect materials to be available immediately after a list has been submitted.

Removing Materials from Reserve

Material may be removed by the instructor any time during the semester. Please allow for processing time. Before the end of each semester instructors are contacted as to their wishes for the next term. Materials will be removed and returned unless we are instructed to leave materials on for a course taught the next semester.

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