Course Reserve Policy
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The Reserve Collection

The materials that make up the Reserve Collection are there for one of several different reasons. The bulk of the collection, Course Reserves, is placed there by instructors to ensure that all students enrolled in a particular class have ready access to required and recommended materials. Other items such as software manuals, style manuals, and documents relating to UMW are on Permanent Reserve.

The Reserve Desk opens when the library opens and closes 15 minutes prior to the library’s closing.

All items that have been placed on Reserve are listed in the library’s online catalog. Searches can be done at any terminal in the building or by accessing the catalog remotely.  If the needed item is on Reserve for a particular instructor, the easiest way to find the item is to search by the instructor’s last name, then choose the course number. This brings up a list of all items on Reserve for that specific course/section, and tells whether an item is available, or when it is due if it is checked-out. If the needed material cannot be located in the course list, it is not on Reserve.

A valid EagleOne card and a patron account in good standing are required for Reserve check-out.* Reserves circulate for 2-hours/overnight, 1-day, 3-days, or 7-days depending on the instructor’s preference. Reserve items cannot be restricted to building use. If a 2-hour Reserve item is checked out within 2 hours of closing, the item will be due back when the Library reopens. There is no limit to the number of Reserve items that can be checked-out at one time. Holds and Recalls cannot be placed on Reserve material. Reserve material cannot be renewed but may be checked out again, if no one is waiting for the item.*

Reserve materials must be returned to the Circulation Desk if the library is open. A book drop is available in the front wall of the building for after-hours returns.  

Charges for overdue Reserve materials are $1.00 per hour (or any part of an hour) per item.  Charges continue to accrue when the Library is closed. There is no maximum charge for Reserve items.

Reserve lists must be submitted on the Course Reserve Materials List form.  This form must be filled out completely and legibly.  An incomplete or indecipherable form will result in a delay in processing. Reserve lists are limited to 30 items per course. Multiple copies and volumes count toward this total. (See also: the section called Copyright Restrictions for Reserve Materials)

Persons requesting that items be placed on Reserve must have a patron record that is in good standing in the Library’s database.  To ensure that materials will be processed and available for use, lists must be submitted at least seven days prior to the date students will first need access to them.  Processing will be done on a first-come, first-served basis. If any item is unavailable for processing, notification will be made via email or voice-mail.

The Library staff will pull Library-owned materials as time allows. However, processing will be completed sooner if the person submitting the list pulls the items and brings them to the Circulation Desk along with the completed Reserve Materials List form. Personal copies should also be brought in with the list. Personal items may sustain damage or loss. A bar code and spine label will be affixed, which in most cases cannot be removed without damage to the item. 

Photocopies made by the Library for Reserve will be charged to the faculty member’s department. The Library can make copies of Library-owned materials only. 

Choose a 2-hour/overnight, 1-day, 3-day, or 7-day loan period for each item. See the Borrowing Reserve Materials section for a more detailed explanation of loan periods.  The choice of loan period should be based on class size, length of assignment, time allowed before assignment is due, whether the reading is required or recommended, and the number of copies available. Items on Reserve for the same course can have different loan periods, and the loan period can be changed if it becomes evident that the loan period that was initially chosen is either too brief or too long.

Materials borrowed through Interlibrary Loan, checked-out from another library, or rented from a retail source will not be placed on Reserve under any circumstances.

All items placed on Reserve must be in compliance with copyright law.  See the section on Copyright Restrictions for Reserve Materials for further explanation.

All titles will be removed from Reserve at the end of the semester or session (after the last day of finals) unless another removal date is specified.  Write indefinite on the form for those items that may remain on Reserve for an extended period of time, e.g., writing guides or items needed for classes taught in subsequent sessions. Only those items within copyright compliance can remain on Reserve indefinitely.

Items may be removed from Reserve before the designated expiration date. However, all circulation statistics will be lost. The library will not be responsible for personal copies that are not picked up within two weeks after the expiration date.

Each photocopy placed on Reserve must include publication information (author, title, year) and contain the publication’s copyright statement. Book chapters must include the title and author(s) of the chapter as well as the title and author(s) of the book. Any photocopies not including this information will be returned. No more than five copies of any one photocopied item may be put on Reserve. The person placing the material on Reserve must secure permission from the copyright owner if any photocopied material is to remain on Reserve for more than one semester, even if those semesters are not contiguous.

A personal copy of a photocopied article and any article obtained through interlibrary loan may be placed on Reserve for one semester. Permission must be secured from the copyright owner if the articles are to remain on Reserve for more than one semester.

Library-owned books and bound periodicals that have had photocopies of chapters or articles previously placed on Reserve will be placed on Reserve in their entirety in subsequent semesters.

Copies for Reserve must meet the criteria of brevity, spontaneity and cumulative effect.

Brevity -- (1) “Poetry: (a) a complete poem if less than 250 words and if printed on not more than two pages, or (b) from a longer poem, an excerpt of not more than 250 words. (2) Prose: (a) either a complete article, story or essay of less than 2,500 words, or (b) an excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less, but in any event a minimum of 500 words.”

Spontaneity -- (1) “The copying is at the instance and inspiration of the individual teacher, and (2) inspiration and decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission.”

Cumulative Effect -- (1) “The copying of material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made. (2) Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term. (3) There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term.”

Prohibitions --(1) “Copying shall not be used to create or to replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works.” (2) “There shall be no copying of or from works intended to be ‘consumable’ in the course of study...” (3) “Copying shall not substitute for the purchase of books, publishers’ reprints or periodicals,...” or “be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term.”

* A valid UMW ID and a patron account in good standing are required for Reserve check-out. Non-affiliated patrons may access Government Documents that are on Reserve by contacting a Circulation Supervisor.

Simpson Library University of Mary Washington 1801 College Avenue Fredericksburg, VA 22401-4664 540-654-1125

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