Course Reserves

Course Reserves Description

The RIT Libraries Reserves collection allows instructors to identify materials to which the Library should provide controlled access during the semester. Placing items on reserve removes them from the circulating collection and assigns shorter loan periods (e.g. 2 hours) to ensure availability of high-demand items to the maximum number of borrowers. These materials are kept at the Circulation Desk at Wallace on Ice (the library is currently located in Ritter Ice Arena).

Materials Eligible for Course Reserves

• Required or suggested readings for courses being taught in the current semester
• Media supported by RIT (e.g. Books, DVDs, CDs)
• Instructors’ personal copies of items

Materials Ineligible for Course Reserves

• Materials obtained through ConnectNY or Interlibrary Loan
• Bound volumes of library-owned periodicals
• Consumable workbooks
• More than two copies of the same item

Reserve Loan Period Options

Instructors can determine the length of time for which a physical item may be checked out: 2 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 7 days.

Placing Materials on Course Reserves

To place items on reserve at the library, Instructors may:

• Complete the online Course Reserves Request.
• Come to the circulation desk at Wallace on Ice (Ritter Arena) and fill out a printed copy of the Course Reserve Request Form.

If RIT Libraries does not own a copy of an item, Course Reserves will work with the appropriate College Liaison Librarian to request that item be purchased and be put on reserve. These requests may take at least 2 weeks to coordinate with the Librarians, Acquisitions and Course Reserves.

If placing personal items on reserve, please bring them to the library so that they can be processed. Instructors' personal items are physically processed to identify them as reserve items; this includes applying adhesive labels to items. Wallace Library does not assume responsibility for replacing worn, damaged or missing personal copies.

Please contact us by email at ereswml@rit.edu, if you have any questions about adding items to the Course Reserves collection.

Deadlines for Submitting Course Reserves

Faculty may add items to the Reserves collection at any time during the semester. Requests are processed in the order that they are received. To ensure library employees have sufficient time to prepare items for student access, requests for library-owned or Instructors’ copies should be submitted at least 4 working days prior to when the items are needed for a course.

If an Instructor is requesting a book that needs to be ordered, they should anticipate it taking at least 2 weeks before the item can be ordered, processed, and placed on reserve for their students.

Any issues or problems with the Course Reserves request will be communicated to the faculty member.

Course Reserves Timeframe and Item Removal

Course Reserves items are offered for the current semester and will be automatically removed at the end of the semester.

However, if an instructor intends on teaching the same course during the following semester, they should notify the Reserves Department at ereswml@rit.edu at least one week before the the end of the current semester, and their items will remain in the Reserves collection without having to submit a new request.

Electronic Reserves

Effective fall 2021, RIT Libraries no longer offers an Electronic Reserves service. Instructors are encouraged to utilize functionality in myCourses to share links to library resources and manage course content. Within myCourses, you can arrange content as recommended by instructional design best practices and manage course content within the course shell each semester.

Librarians are still available to assist with selecting library materials for course content and creating links to eBooks and articles in the library databases. Teaching & Learning Services can assist with the use of myCourses via chat, email, or phone.

Related Services

• Instructional Scanning
  RIT Libraries instructional scanning service will provide a scanned PDF of library materials or personal copies for faculty to place within myCourses.

• Librarian Consultation
  Liaison Librarians can assist instructors in a range of course planning activities, including selecting resources used in courses, determining availability of these resources, obtaining access to course resources, and providing instruction on how to create and use links to library materials.

• Teaching & Learning Services
  TLS Staff can assist Instructors with course building or adding resources in myCourses, including the myCourses Library Reserves Module.