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User Services : General Info for Faculty & Staff

Welcome to the Houston Cole Library's User Services Page

Contact Us

Have questions?  Contact us at reserves@jsu.edu.

Course Reserve Requests Form

What are Course Reserves?

Reserves are materials and resources that professors have identified to use for a class. Only JSU faculty and staff are eligible to submit Reserve requests. JSU students who are currently taking classes are eligible to check out Reserve items. Reserve items can be either print or electronic.

  • Print Reserves are books and audiovisual materials that have been set aside for a class at the library.
  • Electronic Reserves are materials that have been scanned and uploaded to the library's website. Access is usually limited to students enrolled in the course.

General Questions About Course Reserves

  What Reserve services does the JSU Library offer?

The JSU Library offer Print and Electronic Reserve services.

  • We can place books, CDs, DVDs, and other material on Reserve at the Library. Students can generally borrow these materials for 1 hour in-house use and renew them up to 2 times as long as another student isn't waiting to use them. Items may also be placed on 24 hour, 3 day, and 1 week Reserve per instructor's request.
  • We can scan articles or chapters from a journal or book and upload them to the Library's website, as long as the request falls within copyright guidelines.

  What is the Reserve policy?

Please see the Reserve Policy (p.51 Library Policies and Procedures Manual) for more information.

  • All textbooks, including Library copies and professors’ personal copies, will be designated as strict reserve items. They are to be used in the Library only, checked out for one hour, and may be renewed as long as the item is not requested by another patron.
  • The Reserve Desk does not circulate printed photocopies. Photocopies are scanned and made available through Electronic Reserve.
  • Items to be placed on Reserve should include the appropriate, full citations.
  • Reserve materials should be limited to single articles or chapters, and, in general, small portions of entire works.
  • Instructors should only make copies of materials that are already owned legally by either the Library or the instructor.
  • Articles that are available online in full-text through the databases subscribed to by the Library can be placed on Electronic Reserve.
  • Non-circulating materials from specialized service areas are not placed on Reserve. They should remain in the area where they are usually housed: Reference, Periodicals, Alabama Gallery, and the Audio-Visual Center.

  Who is eligible to submit Reserve requests?

Only JSU faculty and staff are allowed to place materials on Reserve

  How do I submit a Course Reserve request?

Submit your Course Reserve request through the Course Reserves Request Form. The information you submit will be sent to the Library's Reserve Department. The Reserve information can be accessed on the Course Reserve Data Page once the items have cleared copyright.

  When should I submit my Reserve request?

Please allow 7 business days for Reserve requests to be processed. Reserve requests are processed in the order received.

  May additional items be added after the semester begins?

Additional items can be put on Reserve anytime during the semester. Please use the Course Reserves Request Form (choosing Add to Existing List) to submit the additional requests. Please allow 7 business days for Reserve requests to be processed. Reserve requests are processed in the order received.

  I submitted my request, but now I need to make a change. What do I do?

To change your Course Reserve List, email reserves@jsu.edu or call (256) 782-5243. The Reserve Department accepts requests Sunday-Friday.

  How long will it take for items to be placed on Reserve?

Please allow 7 business days for Reserve requests to be processed. Reserve requests are processed in the order received.

We encourage you to submit Reserve requests as soon as possible to ensure that material is available to students when they need it.

However, there are a few exceptions:

  • For Electronic Reserve, the Library cannot post items until the Reserve request is checked for copyright law compliance.
  • If the Library does not own a book and we need to order it, it may take 4-6 weeks for the book to arrive.
  • Around the beginning of the term and after the semester begins, items may take longer to be processed. If a book is checked out and needs to be recalled, for example, it may take 8-10 business days for us to receive the book.

  How can I speed up processing of my Reserve request?

  • Complete the Course Reserves Request Form completely.
  • Items to be placed on Reserve should include the appropriate, full citations. Print Reserve requests should include author(s), title, publication year, edition, and if possible, call number for items which the Library owns. Electronic Reserve requests from journals should include journal name, volume, issue, page numbers, and date. Electronic Reserve book chapter requests should also include author(s), title, publication year, edition, page numbers, and if possible, call number for items which the Library owns.
  • Please remember that only 1 chapter per book or 1 article per journal issue is allowed to be placed on Electronic Reserve in order to comply with copyright law.

  May I place my personal items on Reserve?

Yes. We ask that you complete the Course Reserves Request Form.

  May I use materials obtained through Interlibrary Loan to supplement my Reserve List?

No. Only items owned by the JSU library may be placed on Course Reserve.

  What can't I put on Reserve?

U.S. Copyright regulations do not permit placing the same copyright protected materials on Reserve for more than one term per year (excluding personal items such as test files, class notes, etc.) without obtaining copyright permission.

Only *one (1)* chapter from a book or *one (1)* article and not more than 25% of the content of an issue of one journal may be placed on Reserve unless the instructor receives the copyright holder's written permission and acknowledges receipt when submitting materials to Reserve.

Books from non-JSU Libraries cannot be placed on Print Reserve. If you would like a book placed on Reserve that the Library does not own, you may drop off a personal copy of the book or the Library's Acquisitions Department may be able to order it. Book orders can take up to 6 weeks, so the earlier we get your request, the better.