Reserves - Frequently Asked Questions


General

There is no hard-and-fast deadline. We’re happy to add readings to your course materials as they come in. Your requests will be added to the queue in the order in which they were received. Please also note that our reserve system uploads on a 24 hour cycle, eliminating the likelihood of same-day access regardless of queue length. Be sure to get us your requests early to avoid delays!

In many cases, the library may be able to purchase an e-book of your course text or secure licensing for streaming video, or we can work with you to digitize sections of your print textbook depending on the results of a fair use analysis. Please email libreserve@uidaho.edu to begin the process.

Kind of. Due to fair use guidelines, we can’t digitize a textbook and place the whole copy online. However, we can digitize sections of textbooks, and we’re happy to work with you to determine whether scanning a print book or a library e-book is the best solution for you.

Reach out to your liaison librarian as soon as possible. We can work with publishers and vendors to acquire a copy of a print book, or see if an e-book is available for your course text, and if so, purchase a license for the content. There are many variables when it comes to e-books, so if an e-book is not available for your course text, we will do whatever we can to explore other options.

The library has a large collection of DVDs, and subscribes to several streaming platforms, including AVON and Kanopy, and in many cases we can provide virtual options for physical DVDs. If you need to view a streaming video from a provider other than Kanopy or AVON, or for more information please contact your subject liaison, or libreserve@uidaho.edu. Please ask libreserve@uidaho.edu for information on requesting YouTube and/or Vimeo links for your reading list.

Your liaison librarian can help you find options, either through our electronic databases, streaming media platforms, or open educational resources. Options include:

  • Identifying already licensed library resources that could meet your needs.
  • Scanning portions of print materials within fair use and provide pdfs through course reserves.
  • Identifying streaming options for some DVDs owned by the library.
  • Licensing available streaming media as requested by instructors.
  • Requesting e-books for purchase when possible.

Leganto

Leganto is a library plug-in that allows students to access library course reserves directly from your Canvas course. It is an additional feature of our existing library systems. Learn more on our Leganto information page

Requests

Yes, as the form will prompt you for all the information we are required to have on file. Identify items in the same manner as they appear in your syllabus. We will list them in a similar manner on the system unless you give us instructions to group them differently.

No, not as long as all the pertinent information is provided instructor’s name, class and course number, full citation, and whether it’s new material or pages that you’ve used for this class previously. Using the form is usually easier than remembering all the required information each time.

With the on-line form, at least 2 weeks before the start of the semester.

This needs to be done at your end. Materials submitted that are not ready for scanning will be put on In-Library Reserves or returned to you. We prefer to copy or scan from the original source.

Submitting a reading list is acceptable, but is a much slower process. Allow more lead-time for obtaining call numbers, pulling the items and copying.

We are unable to leave the class up due to the copyright policies, but it can be retrieved easily enough. Contact libreserve@uidaho.edu for the specifics.

The Reserve list can be accessed from any of the university computer labs or from their home computers. They will need to have the latest Adobe Reader version loaded. The materials can be read on-line and/or printed. An advantage of accessing them from the university computer labs is that it allows them to use the print quota they are allocated each semester.

The students can access the material at any time of the day from any available Internet connection and don’t have to worry about the file being checked out when they need it. They can also use the file however long they would like without being concerned about late fees accruing.

Limitations

Only 5 items per week can be submitted during peak times. Otherwise, you may request any reasonable amount of items for your class size and just indicate which need to be processed first. A guideline would be 15 to 30 per class.

One chapter from a book or 10%, whichever is LESS, and up to two articles from a particular issue of a journal. See “How to” for further details. Use of more than this would require requesting permission from the publisher.

Harvard Business Review has very strict licensing rules governing the use of their materials. The HBR 500 articles and HBR cases are not typically available via our library databases. HBR requests that faculty wishing to use these articles for course reserves register as an educator and set up an online coursepack for students. HBR will then provide free digital desk copies to instructors as well as teaching notes for HBR cases. HBR articles are somewhat less restricted, but neither libraries nor instructors are permitted to direct link to these materials from Leganto or Canvas. Instead, students need to search for the articles themselves. Our Accessing Harvard Business Review page provides instructions for students that can be referenced in your reading lists.

Timing

It depends on the number of items. A general rule would be to allow at least a week from the date the students will need it. During peak periods allow more time and indicate priority in groups of five items or less.

It depends on the size of the list. A general rule would be to allow at least two weeks from the date the students will need it. During peak periods allow more time and indicate priority in groups of five items or less. It is advisable to check the U of I catalog first to determine what we do and do not own. Any materials that we don’t own will need to be provided by you.

Due to demand and time constraints, materials left without ample time will be put on In-Library reserve only. Be sure to allow enough lead-time and submit copies that are ready for scanning or use materials available electronically (see Electronic Materials, below).

Scanning / Submissions

We need you to supply originals or clean, one-sided copies that include the complete source (copies of the title pages). Please let us know whether you do or don’t want your copies returned.

We are required to have the complete citation for either type of Library Reserve, just as you would have to cite them in a published bibliography submission. The complete source has to be available on any copies submitted for Reserve, not just listed on your request form or reading list. Copying the two title pages in the front of a book or the title page of the particular journal issue is usually the best way to accomplish this.

They are obtained from your sources or the U of I Library and are scanned as clean, one-sided copies or from the original. We currently have one scanner in operation for the Reserve department.

No, they will come up as pdf files in Adobe Acrobat. This protection is required and primarily designed to assure that they are only used by the individual student.

We keep previously used materials in a password protected drive for 3 years / 6 semesters in case of future need. Please indicate if we’ve used the item for you previously on Ereserve for this class or another so it can be retrieved.

Electronic Materials

Files created by you or found from your electronic subscriptions can be sent as an email attachment as pdf or Microsoft Word files. They would need to include complete sources if they are published materials, or for unpublished works, written permission from the author if the author is not you. Full text journal articles can be found from the Library home page through “find articles/general interest” or just by searching the U of I catalog. Watch for the “full text available” indication next to the item. Please indicate if you know an item is available as a direct link and we will create the link from here.

Most items that can be directly linked to the Ereserve site do not require copyright permission when used for subsequent semesters due to the Library owning subscription rights. They are also much quicker to add to the Ereserve system.

Due to federal copyright restrictions we need to restrict the use to only the students that are enrolled in the class on most published works. We can also apply this password protection to your individual materials if you wish. Students will use their normal U of I NetID receive access. Please encourage your students to ask for help in the library if they have any problems with the Reserve System.

No, we take care of pursuing permissions, but only if you are using the materials for more than one semester for the same class. Because we are not creating a new document by compiling all your readings, nor providing printed copies for each student we are able to use the materials for one semester as educational fair use and are not required to seek permission.

Yes, but only after the first semester of use and only on items we don’t have the ability to directly link legally, i.e. via subscription rights.

No you don’t. We prefer to do that, after the initial semester of fair use, so we are sure that the permission specifically covers the use. At the present time, the University of Idaho Library is paying for these costs. The charges for electronic postings are currently running 3 to 4 times as much as In-library Reserve items and are usually good for one semester only. They are based on the number of pages and the number of students in the class, along with the individual fee assigned by the various publishers. Occasionally we are simply turned down. As an author submitting materials for publication you may want to negotiate your ownership rights, when possible, if you foresee wanting to use the materials in your teaching to avoid this potential problem.

Usually within a few weeks we will be notified of their terms. Sometimes we don’t get responses from the publishers until later in the semester. We will notify you by email if there are problems and suggest other ways to provide the materials for your students.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) protects any use of student papers without their written permission. The permission form is available from the Reserve home page. There are always copyright implications when using unpublished materials not authored by the user.