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Reserve Policies & Procedures

Library Reserves provide faculty with an opportunity to make supplementary course materials available to students. The Libraries offer both traditional in-library, as well as electronic, reserve options. E-Reserves provide convenient access to reserve materials regardless of user location or time of day. For books, as well as some types of media, traditional course reserves may be the most appropriate option.

about Copyright

PennWest University Libraries use the Fair Use Doctrine (17 USCS § 107/108 of the U.S. Copyright Law) as the guiding principle for library reserves copyright compliance. The Libraries evaluate requests for additions to the reserves system in terms of compliance with fair use. In the event that compliance is unclear, it may be necessary to acquire copyright permission prior to adding materials to the reserve file.

Placing Materials On Reserve

Faculty: Please allow sufficient lead time for processing.
Requests may take up to two (2) weeks to process.
Last minute requests may not be available when desired. 

Electronic Reserves (e-Reserves): GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Contact the CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR.

Contact the Circulation Supervisor via email or telephone +1 814 393 2304. She will send you a form to be completed and set up a course section on the Clarion Shares area. Complete the above form and send it with electronic copies of documents to be placed on reserve. Digital copies may be forwarded as e-mail attachments or submitted on CD, DVD, or USB media. Links to e-books and database articles licensed by the University can also be added to E-Reserve lists in compliance with vendor licensing agreements.

If paper documents are also being submitted, please include another copy of the request with those.
Documents may be:

    • E-mailed to the Reserves Desk in the Circulation Department (the preferred method)
    • Hand-delivered to the Circulation Department
    • Mailed via U.S.P.S to the Circulation Department

Naming Items On Reserve

Items should be identified for reserve cataloging in the same manner as they appear on your syllabus. Students should know specifically what to ask or search for.

Print the the Library Reserves Request Form and submit with your print Reserve items.

Photocopies

All photocopied material should...

    • ...be photocopied onto single-sided, 8.5 x 11" paper.
    • ...include full bibliographic citation for each e-reserve document on the first page of each article.
    • ...NOT be stapled together! Use paper clips instead. Staples interfere with our scanning process.
    • ...be no longer than 25 pages. If your document exceeds this page length, please divide the article into parts.
    • ...NOT have black margins and gutters on photocopies. Crop these marks when you scan to reduce toner waste and increase readability.
    • ...NOT include articles currently accessible on the Internet or via the library's electronic databases. These may not be placed on e-reserve.

Please keep in mind that for E-Reserves, the quality of the scanned copy will depend largely upon the quality of the original document. Please provide clean, legible photocopies.

Limitations

In consideration of the fair use exception to U.S. copyright law, we can only place limited portions of a work on reserve. For more information about copyright, please contact University Libraries Administration.

In compliance with copyright guidelines, E-Reserves are password-protected and access is available to students in the class for which the materials have been placed on reserve. Reserve staff will provide the faculty member with a password to share with only the members of the designated class.

Please note that unused items cannot be left on Reserve and are removed from the system.

Traditional Reserves

Complete a Library Reserves Request form for each item and include it with the material to be placed on reserve. You will be asked to include complete bibliographic information as well as copyright information for each request.

End of semester process

At the end of each semester, all photocopied materials are removed from reserve, library materials are returned to the collection, and personal copies are returned to the professor.

E-Reserve materials are deactivated at the end of the semester and are removed from the system.

Materials That May Be Placed On Reserve

  • Circulating copies of materials owned by the library (books, DVDs, videos).
  • Photocopies of journal articles, book chapters, essays, and graphs provided that...
  • ...the photocopied portion constitutes a small part of the overall work. (Generally this is interpreted as one book chapter or essay, and no more than one article per journal issue.)
  • ...a copy of the title page and page displaying copyright information is included with each photocopy.
  • ...copyright permission has been received for materials placed on reserve in previous semesters. Photocopies used more than one semester require copyright permission. The Library will assist with securing permissions; however, it may be necessary to remove materials from reserve if the cost of permission is prohibitive.
  • Digital materials and links to database articles licensed by the University in compliance with publishers' licensing agreements.
  • Personal copies of books and media* supplied by the faculty member that satisfy copyright guidelines.
  • Lecture notes or assignments supplied by the faculty member.

(Note: Work completed by students must meet both copyright and privacy guidelines. Submitted materials must not include the student's name. A release statement signed by the student must accompany the materials.)

  • Public Domain works

(Works created before 1923 or published without a copyright notice for 1923-1977.)

*NOTE: The library cannot assume responsibility for loss or damage to personal materials placed on reserve.

Materials Generally Not Appropriate for Reserve

  • Bound volumes of periodicals
  • Reference collection materials
  • Books or media obtained via InterLibrary Loan
  • Course packs
  • Consumables (workbooks, standardized tests, etc.)

  

 

Last Updated 9/2/22