Instructor’s guide to using course reserves
Course reserve is a service provided by the UW Libraries to support UW courses by providing high access to materials in demand by a large number of students. UWT course materials can be made available at the UWT Library circulation desk (regular reserve) or online (electronic reserve). Materials are available on reserve for the duration of the specified quarter.
There is no deadline for submitting your reserve list, but it is recommended that instructors submit their requests and/or materials as early as possible. Reserve lists are processed in the order in which they are received. The quarter interim and the first two weeks of the quarter are the busiest time for processing reserves, and materials can take up to two weeks to be processed during this period. Submissions at other times can generally be processed within a few working days.
Instructors may request that UW library materials be set aside on reserve and/or provide their own materials to the library to be put on reserve. Once placed on reserve, these materials can be checked out from the UWT Library’s circulation desk.
Regular reserves have short loan periods so that they are accessible to many students. The possible loan periods for regular reserve materials are:
- 2 hours – overnight borrowing optional
- 4 hours – overnight borrowing optional
- 24 hours (1 day)
- 72 hours (3 days)
- 168 hours (7 days)
Submitting Requests for UW Library Materials
Most circulating UW Library materials can be placed on reserve at the UWT Library. Reserve request forms are available at the circulation desk, but can also be filled out online. UW books can be requested online using the Course Reserves Request Form. UW videotapes, DVDs, slides, audio recordings, or other media materials can be requested online using the Schedule a Video form.
Please note that it can take two weeks or more to acquire library materials for reserve if another user has checked them out. Materials may also be unavailable if they have already been placed on reserve at another library unit.
If the UW Libraries do not have the desired material, subject librarians can assist instructors in ordering a copy. Such orders generally take several weeks to be filled and should be arranged about one quarter before the material is needed.
Instructors can submit their own books and other materials for reserve at the UWT Library’s circulation desk. When materials are submitted they should be accompanied by a Regular Reserve Form to provide staff with the necessary course and item information.
Barcodes and labels will be applied to non-library reserve materials so they can be checked out. Additionally, reserve materials are often heavily used and the library does not assume responsibility for damage to or loss of instructor materials. These factors should be taken into account before personal materials are submitted.
Electronic reserve materials, or e-reserves, are course materials that can be accessed online. They are convenient for students because they can be accessed at all times of the day, not just while the library is open. (Note, however, that home access and printing cannot always be guaranteed due to variations in users’ personal computer settings.)
Instructors can submit both photocopies and electronic files for use as e-reserves. Note that any reproductions of copyrighted material must comply with the fair use provisions of United States Copyright Law.
Copyright and Electronic Reserves
Like photocopies and other physical reproductions of copyrighted material, digital reproductions made available online are subject to United States Copyright Law. Fair use provisions have been put in place to allow for the use of such reproductions for educational use. To expedite workflow, instructors should evaluate each copyrighted document or media file for compliance with fair use provisions before submitting materials for e-reserve. The fair use criteria are available at the UW Libraries website Copyright and Reserves.
Reserves staff are available for consultation about fair use but are not copyright authorities and are not responsible for copyright compliance. It is the responsibility of the instructor, not library staff, to comply with copyright law when making any educational materials available to students.
For more information, see the UWT Library Copyright Policy for Electronic Reserves.
Submitting Photocopies for Electronic Reserve
Instructors can submit photocopies of book chapters or journal articles at the circulation desk or send them to the library via campus mail. An Electronic Reserve Form must be submitted with each reading so library staff can track materials. Library reserves staff will scan the photocopies and post them online in PDF format.
Because e-reserves are increasingly popular and staff is limited, the library is reliant on instructors to provide high-quality photocopies. Library staff cannot photocopy materials or clean up messy originals. The UWT Copy Center produces excellent copies. E-reserve submissions will be rejected for the following reasons:
- There are black margins at the edges due to copying smaller pages without adjusting copy size
- Text is not clear enough to be legible when scanned, is cut off, or is otherwise obscured
- Paper is not letter size (8.5” x 11”)
- Pages are bound or in some format which does not allow them to be scanned
Submitting Electronic Files for Electronic Reserve
Existing PDFs or other types of electronic files can be submitted in a few different ways. Instructions should be provided to library staff specifying instructor name, course name and number, file names, and document titles.
- If the files are on a floppy disk, CD-R, flash drive, or other removable storage device, it can be given to library staff at the circulation desk.
- Files can be delivered electronically to reserves staff by saving a copy to the “E-reserves” folder on the UWT share drive. The “E-reserves” folder is located in the “Everyone” folder on the UWT S-drive. After saving your files to this folder, reserves staff should be notified at tacres@u.washington.edu that there are files to retrieve.
- Please do not send electronic files as e-mail attachments. Though the library has previously accepted attachments, this practice is now discouraged in order to prevent the spread of computer viruses.
