Faculty/Instructor Course Reserve Information

What are Physical and Electronic Reserves?

Physical Course Reserves:

Books, journals, media, and other items (both from the library and from an instructor’s personal collection) are considered physical course reserves. These materials are available for a 2-hour, 3-hour, (for DVDs and videos only) 1-day, or 2-day loan period. Late charges accrue at $0.02 per minute for 2 and 3 hour loans and $3.00 per day for 1 and 2 day loans. There is a maximum of $50.00 per item. This material is searchable through InfoLINK , the libraries’online catalog. Physical course reserve material may be checked out with a valid BU ID at the Newcomb Reading Room in the Bartle Library and at the University Downtown Center (UDC) Library during regular library hours.

Electronic Course Reserves:

Electronic Reserves allows your course materials to be available to students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through your course page on Blackboard. If you are new to Blackboard and thinking about using it, Instructor help is available.

Even if you choose not to use Blackboard in your class, the course can still be made available on your students’ blackboard homepages. With your permission, Reserve staff can maintain this page for you.

Students will be able to access this material from anywhere with a computer and internet connection. Documents will be scanned by library staff and posted as Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) files.  To view these files you must have a current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. Microsoft Office files and links to other web sites can also be posted on electronic reserves.

What can be placed on Electronic Reserves?

  • Non-copyrighted materials – Materials written by the instructor (e.g.: syllabi, lecture notes, sample exams, problem sets, homework solutions).
  • A chapter from a book.
  • An article from a journal.
  • Student papers (Student permission is required; please complete and submit Printable Form to service desk.)
  • Links to articles in journals owned in electronic full-text by Binghamton University Libraries.
  • Links to books owned in electronic full-text by Binghamton University Libraries.

    • What cannot be placed on Electronic Reserves?

  • Entire books (unless owned in electronic full-text by Binghamton University Libraries).
  • More than one chapter from the same book (includes prefatory material).
  • More than one article from the same issue of a journal.
  • Audio files.
  • Video files.
  • Image files.

    • How do I submit a request for Reserves?

  • Fill out an online reserve request form or stop at the Bartle, UDC or Science service desks
  • Give us a full citation for the book chapters or articles that you want placed on Electronic Reserves, even for those which you provide copies of.
  • If you do wish to provide us with photocopies to scan, they must be clean, first-generation, single-sided, and unstapled.
  • You can also send us your PDF and word files as email attachments, in place of providing photocopies of those items.

    • Tips for successful processing:

  • Submit your reserve request form as early as possible.
  • Make purchase requests well in advance if possible.
  • Items from the Libraries' collections should be brought directly to the Reserves staff or Service desks along with your reserve request form.

    • When do I need to submit my request for Reserves? In general, reserve request lists for either physical or electronic reserves should be submitted at least three weeks before the start of classes. Any lists submitted after that time will be processed in the order in which they are received. Additionally, the Libraries may need to seek permission from copyright holders to place certain materials on electronic reserve. Therefore, late submissions may not be completely ready before the start of classes.

    How will my students find course readings?(Also see Information for Students on how students access reserves.)

    For physical reserves, they can search InfoLINK and view lists of available material by going to advanced search, selecting “Course Number” under “Field to Search” and entering the course ID, ( i.e. ECON160A ).

    For electronic reserves, they can access the reserve materials by logging into Blackboard and clicking on your course listed on their Blackboard homepage. They then can click on “Course Reserves” and will find items arranged by author and title.

    How can I get more information?

    You can stop by either service desk or contact the Reserves departments directly.

    Main Library Reserves:
    (607) 777-3940
    (607) 777-4848 -Fax
    mainresv

    On this page:

    Physical and electronic e-reserves

    What can be placed on e-reserves

    What cannot be placed on e-reserves

    Submitting a request for reserves

    When to submit a request

    Student access to reserves

    More information