Rush Rhees Course Reserves for Faculty

For Students

Course Reserves are course related materials requested by instructors to be made available for short-term lending from a designated library Q&i desk.

Use the catalog to search course reserves by course number, course name or your professor's name.

Using Print & Media Reserves

• Visit the Q&i desk at the library where the course materials are shelved. Staff at the Q&i desk will assist you in locating and checking out the reserves materials you need.
• A valid University of Rochester student ID card is required to borrow Reserve materials.
• One reserves item may be checked out at a time.
• Most reserves items can be borrowed for two hours. Q&I Staff will let you know what time your materials are due back.
• The fine for overdue reserve material is $1.00 per hour.

Contact the Q&I Desk with questions about accessing Course Reserves materials for your class.

For Faculty and Instructors

The River Campus Libraries Course Reserves Service allows course instructors to identify physical materials for which the Library should provide controlled access during the semester. Placing items on reserve removes them from the general circulating collections and assigns shortened loan periods to ensure availability of high-demand items to the maximum number of borrowers possible. Items are placed on reserve at the request of course instructors and are limited to print and multimedia materials (DVDs, CDs, etc.) used in a course that are in the collection or eligible for addition to the collection. Items are removed from Course Reserves and returned to the regular library collection at the end of the semester during which the course is offered.

In order to facilitate access to materials on reserve, course instructors may request that library staff:

• Place the following item types on reserve at one of the River Campus Libraries’ Service Desks:
  • items held in the library’s circulating collection
  • high demand non-circulating items in the library collections
  • an instructor’s personal item
  • a physical document, provided by the faculty member
• Purchase obtainable materials to add to the library collections and place on reserve at one of the River Campus Libraries’ Service desks
• Reactivate past course reading lists (created Fall 2019 and afterwards) and place items on these lists back on course reserve

Instructors are asked to review the Course Reserves Submissions Guidelines to ensure that their requests are processed as efficiently as possible.

• Submit a Course Reserves Request
• Submission Guidelines
• Contact a Course Reserves Specialist
• Full Course Reserves Policy
• University of Rochester Copyright Policy

Electronic Course Resource Support

The River Campus Libraries can assist instructors with identifying electronic resources used in courses and will ensure, whenever possible, that the library’s licenses for the selected online resources adequately provide access for the number of students enrolled in the course and are being used in compliance with any use limitations associated with the resource licensing.

Library staff will assist instructors in creating stable links to give students access to electronic resources owned or licensed by the library. Additionally, library staff can provide instructors with guidance in storing and providing access to electronic resources not owned by the library. The library cannot commit to storing or archiving materials that are not owned or currently licensed by the library.

Instructors may add electronic readings to Blackboard courses as links or PDFs. The River Campus Libraries strongly encourage faculty to link to resources rather than uploading a PDF in order to ensure copyright compliance. Linking to electronic readings also allows the library to collect accurate usage statistics for our electronic resources, which inform our decision-making processes for the purchase and renewal of subscriptions. Library staff will coordinate with the University IT Blackboard Support team to provide additional support for instructors who require assistance with adding links and course readings to their Blackboard courses.

• Request support for acquiring or accessing electronic course resources
• Request assistance creating courses or adding links to materials in Blackboard

Copyright Compliance

Materials may be placed on reserve through the University libraries only in accordance with the University of Rochester Copyright Policy.  Faculty members, instructors or other authorized personnel should carefully review any copyrighted material to be used and determine whether they need to seek permission from the copyright owner. Materials will not be put on course reserves without the copyright owner’s permission unless the fair use factors are met, or unless some other legal exception to the permission requirement applies.

The following rules also apply:

• All use of materials placed on electronic reserves will be at the initiative of faculty solely for the non-commercial, educational use of students.
• Materials to be copied or scanned for electronic reserves will be in legal possession by the library or the faculty member (by purchase, license, fair use, etc.) or some other unit of the University.
• There will be no charge for access. The charge for copies made by students will be limited to the nominal cost of photocopies or laser prints.
• Any copyright notice on the original material must be included in the material copied or scanned. Appropriate citations and attributions to source must also be included.
• When possible links to sites where material already is legally available (e.g., article databases) will be used instead of scanning or making a digital copy.
• To the extent applicable and feasible, use of copyrighted materials on class web pages, in coursepacks, or otherwise outside the course reserve system should follow the above rules.

Course Reserves: Submission Guidelines

Requests for Physical Reserves

In order to ensure efficient processing of requests, The River Campus Libraries can only accept Course Reserves requests via electronic submission (online form or email).

Online Form

Requests missing information or including incomplete citations may take additional time to process.

Email Requests

Course Reserve Requests may also be submitted via email to rclreserves@library.rochester.edu. These requests may include the submission of a course syllabus or reading list, as well as individual citations in the body of the email.

Requests submitted via email should include:

• Course Title
• Course Number (eg. ENG 101)
• Instructor Name
• Instructor Email
• Year and Semester of Course
• Number of students expected to enroll in the class
• Library where physical reserve items should be shelved
• Request to place recommended materials as well as required materials on reserve
• Request to add library-owned electronic resources to the Course Reserves display viewable through the library catalog.
• Requests for additional related services:
  • Assistance selecting resources for my course or verifying availability of resources listed
  • Assistance building course or adding course materials to Blackboard
• Full Citations for Physical Items to place in reserve, including title, author, call number, edition, year, call number, and format. OR Course Syllabus sent as an email attachment.

Requests missing information or including incomplete citations may take additional time to process.

Submission Deadlines

To guarantee Course Reserve materials are ready for access by the first day of classes, requests must be submitted four weeks prior to the beginning of the semester. All requests will be processed on a first come, first served basis, with every effort being made to have them available for use as soon as possible.

The time required to process reserve requests varies with the workload of the unit, the availability of materials, and the accuracy of the information supplied. Most requests submitted during periods of lower demand (such as mid-semester) will be filled within seven business days, but additional time may be required for items that need to be recalled or purchased.

Course Resource List Reactivation Requests

Instructors may request the reactivation of course reserve lists for courses taught from the Fall 2019 semester onward. Requests for reactivation should be sent via email to rclreserves@library.rochester.edu at least four weeks before the beginning of the semester.

When a reactivation request is received, library staff will contact the course instructor to verify the list of resources is accurate.  Once confirmed, Library staff will move the physical materials to the Course Reserves collection and re-enable temporary circulation restrictions. Materials on these reading lists will display in the list of Course Reserves items viewable through the library catalog. Please note that reactivation of course reading lists does not cause the reading list or links to resources to display in the Blackboard course.

Personal Copies

Instructors may submit personal items to be placed on reserve with the understanding that they will be processed for use (which may include application of labels) and that the library is not responsible for their loss or damage. Library staff will attempt to acquire copies of these items for the library collection whenever possible. When a copy of the same title is purchased for the library’s collection, this copy will be placed on reserve and the instructor’s personal copy will be returned to them.

Purchase Requests

Course materials included in a Course Reserves Request from our online form or on a submitted list of required readings that are not already part of the River Campus Libraries’ collection will be ordered for the library collection whenever possible.

Instructors may also contact either Course Reserves Staff or their Outreach Librarian to request the purchase of specific materials for a course.

Items purchased for use supporting a course will be given priority in the library’s acquisitions process, but may take longer to obtain and prepare for reserves than items already in the library’s collections.

Requests for Electronic Resource Support

Instructors may contact either Course Reserves Staff or their Outreach Librarian to request support for acquiring or accessing electronic resources. Library staff will facilitate the provision of services outlined above in the Electronic Course Resource Support section of this policy, either through the River Campus Libraries, or through collaboration with other University of Rochester departments.

To include electronic materials owned or licensed by the River Campus Libraries on the list of Course Reserves items viewable through the library catalog, instructors should request this on the online submission form or via email. Including electronic resources on the library catalog’s reading list will not cause links to the resources to automatically display in Blackboard. Links to online resources must be added to the Blackboard interface by a course instructor.