What are Course Reserves?

The library reserve system is a convenient way for faculty to make additional course materials available to
their students. An instructor could decide to place a variety of items "on reserve," in the library, such as
supplemental readings, class notes and sample exams.

Blinn College students access reserve items at the Library Service Desk (also called the Circulation
Desk). Most items check out for two hours and cannot be taken out of the library. Coin operated photocopiers
are available in the library.

How do I find out if there are materials on reserve for a course I am taking?

Search the Library Catalog for items on Reserve. You can search by either Course ID or Instructor's name.

See examples given below:

• Course ID Search

                        - Use the course numbers from the BORIS registration system or the course catalog when
                           searching for reserves. Don't insert spaces in a course number; capitalization doesn't matter.

                        - Example: To find a listing for English 1301 use 'engl1301' or 'engl' or 'Engl1301' or 'ENGL1301'

• Course Instructor Search

                        - Search the instructor's last name, or the first letter of his last name.

                        - Example: To find a listing for Roland Smith, you can use 'S' 'Smith' or 'Smith R' or 'Smith, Roland'.

Information for Faculty

Any items (articles, books, audio cassettes, video cassettes, CDs, DVD's) that are part of the Blinn College Library
collection or are part of an instructor's personal collection might be eligible for reserve. Reserve items can have
different loan periods:

• 1 hour (in library use only)
• 2 hour (in library use only)
• 3 day
• 7 day
  

Please allow three days for processing before expecting students to have access to the material.

Items that are library materials will be placed back into the circulating collection when the semester is completed.
Due to space restrictions, materials not on reserve that are not library materials will be returned to the instructor.

Books that are not currently in our collection may be ordered. Please allow 4-6 weeks for us to process book
orders.

How do I submit material to be placed on reserve?

Contact the Library Technical Assistant in charge of reserve for your campus:

Blinn College Library - Bryan, 979-209-7307.

Blinn College Library - Brenham, Schulenburg, Sealy, 979-830-4256.

Allow for sufficient time for processing of materials. Please submit the items to be placed on reserve at least
three (3) days before students need to have access to the material.

Please print out a Reserve Request Form (Word Document) for each item to be placed on course reserve. This
form is also available at the Library Service desk.

What kinds of materials can I put on reserve?

A faculty member may place the following types of materials on reserve:

• Blinn College library materials (This includes materials from all Blinn College campuses - Brenham, Bryan, Schulenburg and Sealy)

• Personal copies of books (supplied by instructors)
• Solutions, handbooks, lecture notes, etc. (supplied by instructors)
• Exams/quizzes from previous semesters (supplied by instructors)
• Authorized (i.e., legally purchased) copies of videocassettes, DVD's, audiocassettes and compact discs

The following type of material may be placed on reserve for 1 semester:

• An issue of a journal, magazine, or newspaper
• Photocopy of a single journal, magazine, or newspaper article
• Photocopy of a single chapter of a book

Note: For an issue of journal, magazine, or a newspaper article that needs to be kept on reserve for more than
one semester, permission to do so will need to be sought from the Publisher through the Copyright Clearance
Center (see the Course Reserve Copyright Frequently Asked Questions [ FAQ] for more information on the CCC).
It is possible that the journal or magazine is available through one of our electronic article databases. If that is
the case, students should be directed to the article on the appropriate database.

Photocopies should be lawfully made. All photocopied materials and individual articles will be stamped with
a copyright stamp to indicate that they are subject to copyright law, unless they are in the public domain (see
the FAQ for more information on how to tell if an item is in the public domain ).

What can't I put on reserve?

• Items borrowed from another library. (Outside the Blinn College Library system)
• Items that are considered "consumable" may not be placed on reserve without prior written copyright
  permission.
  
  

       For example:

          Workbooks

          Standardized tests

          Test answer sheets

          Printed exercises

          Printed items that are designed to be removed from their bindings for course work

Professor-created anthologies or coursepacks of readings, unless created with the permission of the
copyright holders or comprised solely of materials in the public domain. Note that anthologies may also
be defined as a compilation of sound or video clips.

If an item to be placed on reserve does not meet fair use guidelines, the library and the instructor will determine
together whether to purchase an authorized copy or seek copyright permission for the unauthorized copy. The
instructor will seek the permission and pay the associated fees. If the copyright holder denies permission, the
library cannot put the item on reserve.

How much can I put on reserve?

The amount of material should be reasonable in proportion to the total amount of material assigned for one
term of a course, taking into account the nature of the course, its subject matter and level.The number of
copies of books, periodicals, newspaper articles and/or multiple photocopies of articles placed on reserve
should be reasonable in proportion to the number of students enrolled and the difficulty and timing of the
assignments. In general, the library will place not more than three (3) copies of a work and/or photocopied
work on reserve. The Library follows these guidelines:

• 0-20........ students not more than two copies
• 21+..........not more than three copies

If copies are insufficient to meet demand, the Library will contact the instructor about adding more copies.

Note: The effect of photocopying material should not harm the market for the work. No more than one chapter
from the same book, or one article from a single periodical issue will be accepted for the reserve collection.
The Library or the instructor MUST own a legal copy of the work being copied, permission must be obtained
from the copyright holder.

All photocopied items must contain the proper notice of copyright on the first page. All photocopied items
must also contain a bibliographic citation that has enough information so that the reader could locate the
work in its original form.

How long can items remain on reserve?

Photocopied articles and chapters from books can remain on reserve for no more than one (1) semester
without written permission of the copyright holder. The Library must receive a copy of this written permission,
which will be kept as long as the item is on reserve.

Many items can remain on reserve until no longer needed. At the end of each semester, the Library staff sends
out E-mail notices to each instructor who has items on reserve. The instructor should notify the Library about
which items should be retained and which removed from reserves. If there is no response from the instructor,
the reserve items will be removed from reserve and returned to the instructor or to the Library collection as
appropriate.

If you have any questions about the reserve policy, please contact the Director of Library Services via
E-mail or at 979-830-4251.

Course Reserve Copyright FAQ

Some common questions regarding course reserves and copyright are provided in the following FAQ.