Subject: Reserves - Services for Faculty

Author/Information
Frank White

Effective Date
September 10, 1999

Purpose
To reply to frequently asked questions about the library's course reserve service

Scope
This policy applies to Marygrove College faculty

Statement of Policy

The purpose of the library's course reserve service is to ensure that required course readings are readily available to students on an on-demand basis. To ensure availability, the materials are removed from normal circulation and placed on reserve, restricting their circulation to periods of a few hours to overnight loan.

Faculty members are strongly encouraged to have any questions about reserves answered by meeting in person with a library staff person in circulation services. Telephone #1355 to set up an appointment time. 

• What can be put on reserve? 
  Any library material or personally owned materials that (a) comply with copyright legislation and (b) are required reading for a course the instructor is teaching.
  The library strongly recommends that faculty place on reserve copies of any articles that are expected to be heavily used. This is to minimize the danger of the library's periodical issues being stolen or vandalized.
• What should not be placed on reserve? 
  The reserve service should not be used as a finding service or a convenience storage location to save students the bother of having to look for materials in the stacks. Materials should not be placed on hold for just one or two students. Items should not be put on reserve for just a week or so. Reserves should not be used as a place to put materials just in case someone might want to look at them. Reference books will no longer be placed on reserve unless the item is an added copy.
• May materials from another library be placed on reserve? 
  For books, the answer is no. The Marygrove library cannot accept responsibility for items borrowed from another library. As for articles, if Marygrove's library does not subscribe to a journal from which you wish to place an article on reserve, you can request that the library obtain a copy of the article through inter-library loan. That article then becomes part of Marygrove's collection and may be placed on reserve. Please realize that obtaining an article through inter-library loan takes time, so it will be a couple of weeks before the article you request becomes available on reserve in the library.
• Will Required Readings on a course syllabus be automatically placed on reserve? 
  No. In fact, the library may not even have in its collection materials listed as required reading in course syllabi. Instructors must request that materials be placed on reserve (or ordered, if you want them added to the collection).
• How does an instructor request that materials be placed on reserve? 
  The faculty member must complete and return to the library a Request for Library Service Form, obtainable in the library or by calling extension 1355. The library cannot accept telephone requests for reserves because of the amount of information that must be collected for each item.
• When is the best time for an instructor to request that materials be placed on reserve? 
  Reserve requests should be submitted to the library at least four weeks before the start of a new term. This ensures the availability of reserve items at the start of a new semester by giving library staff sufficient lead-time to find or purchase the requested items and to do the required data entry and physical processing.
• May an instructor request that items be placed on reserve after the start of a new term? 
  Although instructors are encouraged to submit reserve requests well in advance of a new semester, the library will accept requests during the semester.
• How soon after a faculty request will items be available for student use? 
  It depends. If the request is made at least four weeks before the start of a new semester, the materials will be available to students at the start of the term. If an instructor waits until the last minute or until after the term has started, expect three to five working days for the materials to be collected, processed, and made available to students. Same-day service on reserves cannot be provided because the library has to locate each item and then do the necessary data entry and physical processing.
• Is there a limit to the number of items that may be placed on reserve? 
  No. The library does, however, request that requests be limited to materials that are required reading.
• Does an instructor have to obtain copyright permission to place items on reserve? 
  If uncertain about whether reserve materials comply with copyright legislation, ask library staff for clarification or assistance. For materials that do require copyrighted permission, provide library staff with a full bibliographic citation along with the name, address, publisher, year, and phone number of the copyright holder.
• How long do materials remain on reserve? 
  Normally from the time of the request until the end of the term. For reasons of operational efficiency, the library does not usually accept requests to place materials on reserve for part of a semester.
• Can materials remain on reserve for longer than a semester? 
  Yes. Instructors may request that materials remain on reserve from semester to semester for an indeterminate length of time.
• How are personally owned materials returned to an instructor? 
  Unless an instructor requests that personally-owned materials remain on reserve over successive semesters, personally-owned items will automatically be returned through internal mail at the end of the semester, or they may be picked up from the library at the end of the term. If a faculty member wishes to retrieve personally-owned materials before the end of the semester, the library needs at least 48 hours advance notice to do the processing.
  

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Date created:  April 10, 2000
Date of latest revision October 14, 2004