Instructor’s Guide to Placing Material on Course Reserve

Request Form

A separate form should be submitted for each class.

Incomplete applications may significantly delay the processing of reserve requests. Please be sure to include complete instructor, course and material information. Incomplete or incorrect call number and title information may result in the wrong materials being placed on reserve.

Reserve request forms are available in the following formats:

Circulation Periods

Items placed on reserve can be circulated for one of the following checkout periods:

  • 2 hours
  • 3 hours
  • 4 hours
  • 2 days
  • 1 week

Many reserve items are in high demand and hourly circulation periods generally work best for most materials. It is highly recommended that at least 2 copies of required materials be made available to reserves for classes with 20 or more students.

Multimedia material over 2 hours in length will be assigned a loan period that accommodates viewing time.

Upon request, any items placed on reserve may be restricted to In Library Use Only status. Please note any items you wish to be In Library Use Only in the comments field provided on the reserve request form.

Processing Time

Requests are processed on a first come, first serve basis.

Library staff will do their best to process all reserve requests in a timely manner. Please allow up to 1 week for reserve materials to be processed. Incomplete applications, missing materials, or checked-out items may further delay reserve requests. If the requested item is checked out, it will be recalled and the due date will be changed to 1 week from the processing date. As soon as the item is returned, it will be processed for reserves and you will be notified by e-mail. For missing items, library staff will search 3 times for the item in question, after which the item will be marked as missing and you will be notified.

E-mail notification will be sent to the instructor after each item is placed on reserve.

Photocopied Materials

All copyrighted materials placed on reserve must conform to copyright law. A signature is required to show compliance with this law. For further information, please visit the OSU Copyright Center. Forms for placing photocopied materials on reserve are available at Circulation or here for download.

To make course reserves listings simpler and more user-friendly to students, all photocopied materials are combined into course reading packets. Up to 5 identical copies of the reading packets are allowed on reserve at one time. Please submit the same number of copies of each article so that each reading packet is complete (i.e. 1 copy of each article = 1 packet, 2 copies of each article = 2 packets, etc.)

The library will supply binders for those photocopied materials not submitted in binders.

Video Reservation Requests

Library owned videos may be placed on reserve for multiple classes at a time. If you are planning to use the video on a specific date, an advanced reservation is recommended to ensure the item's availability.

Video reservations for classroom use can be made online or in person at the circulation desk. Requested videos will be placed on reserve for student viewing at a shortened checkout and held for you on the requested dates for in-classroom viewing. As with other reserve items, please allow one week for processing time.

Current Reserve Items

Students can ask for reserve items at the circulation desk by call number. For library materials, this will be the Library of Congress call number listed in the catalog. Personal materials submitted for reserve will be assigned a Valley Reserve (VR) number for referencing. Your confirmation e-mail should include call numbers for all items on reserve for the course.

To view a current listing of your reserve items, please visit the course reserve module in the library catalog and search by course number or instructor’s name.

Instructors may elect to add or remove items from reserve at any time; however, items can only remain on reserve for consecutive terms. Items on reserve for spring term and which will not be used again until fall term will be sent back to the instructor and may be placed back on reserve at the start of fall term.

All reserve items not specifically requested for the following term are removed from reserves starting the week after the end of the term. Personal copies are returned to instructors via campus mail or may be picked up from the circulation desk any time before they are mailed out. If you would like to extend a course reserve listing into the following term, please contact the library before the end of the current term.