Faculty Reserves
This page provides information about placing print materials on Course Reserve at the Library Circulation Desk. For information on adding electronic materials to Blackboard, see this page.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Placing Print Materials On Reserve in Medical Library at the Circulation Desk (12th floor)
- What is a Reserve Collection?
- What kind of materials can be placed on Reserve as course readings?
- Who may place materials on reserve?
- How do I place print materials on reserve?
- Can I place copyrighted materials on reserve?
- Are there any restrictions on placing materials on reserve?
To place print material on Reserve, submit the Reserve Request Form
The Print Reserve Collection
The purpose of the Print Reserve Collection, located on the 12th floor of the Library, is to make required course readings easily accessible to Boston University students. By limiting the amount of time such material may be charged out and/or requiring that the material remain in the library during use, all students in a class have the opportunity to make use of it. Additionally, the Reserve service provides a secure location for heavily-used items.
Who may place material on reserve?
Course Instructors at the Boston University Medical Center (Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Public Health and the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences) may place materials on reserve. Instructors may place library-owned books, personal books, videos, DVDs, lectures on DVD/CDs, and sample exams on reserve each semester for use by students in their courses.
Placing print materials on reserve
Faculty may request that any of the following materials be placed on Reserve as course readings:
- Library-owned books (Medical Library only, not other BU libraries)
- Instructor’s personal copies of books
- Sample exams and quizzes
- Homework assignments and solutions
- Lecture notes and course syllabi
- DVD/CD recordings of lectures
How to place print materials on reserve
Reserve requests are made by completing the Reserve Request Form. The Circulation Services staff will regularly relocate reserve materials that are no longer being used by a course instructor to the general collection. Course instructors must fill out or update a Reserve Request Form at least 14 days before these materials are needed on Reserve.
The following copyrighted material may be placed on Reserve according to fair use guidelines:
Faculty may place copyrighted materials provided that they comply with fair-use guidelines. While these guidelines don’t have force of law, they are used by many institutions, and they are endorsed by many major publishers and the U.S. Copyright Office.
See BU Copyright Policy for detailed information about which materials may be placed on reserve.
Please note the following restrictions:
- U.S. copyright law restricts you to filing a single copy of library-owned journal articles
- Books which the library does not yet own may take up to several weeks to receive after ordering; requests for such books are subject to the approval of a librarian
- The online Reserve Request Form must be completed.
Additional copyright background information can be found at the BUMC Library Copyright, Intellectual Property and Patents page.