University Library Policies

Course Reserve Policies & Procedures

Responsible Administrator: Dean University Library

Responsible Office: Customer Services Department

Last revised: 08/22/2024

Florida Gulf Coast University Library provides Course Reserve Services to facilitate access to supplemental reading material for students enrolled in classes taught by FGCU faculty. This Course Reserve Policy provides information on the regulations and processing procedures governing the acceptance and circulation of reserve material. Justification for exceptions to these guidelines must be submitted in writing to the Course Reserve Manager at libcirc@fgcu.edu.

Placing Items on Course Reserve

FGCU faculty and instructors may submit materials to be placed in the course reserve collection for classes being held in the current or upcoming semester. A completed Reserve Request Form must be submitted for each title to be placed in the collection. Please choose the correct form depending if the request is for Books/Media or Articles/Book Chapter.

Requests for items to be put on course reserve should be submitted at least two weeks before the start of the term.

When multiple instructors request that the same item be placed on reserve during a semester, the item will be listed in the library catalog, EagleSearch, with the name and course number of each instructor. The item will be given the shortest selected loan period.

In order to assure prompt processing of items requested for the Reserve Collection, faculty/instructors should follow these procedures:

Books, Media Materials, etc.

1. Provide an accurate bibliographic citation and call number from the Library online catalog. If item is not owned by Library, search for citation in a bibliographic source, such as WorldCat or Books Print, to facilitate Library purchase of the item.
2. Complete the appropriate Course Reserve Request Form for Books or Media
3. When Request Form is presented along with the item at the Circulation Desk, processing time is reduced.

Articles, Book Chapters, etc.

1. Provide accurate bibliographic citation from the Library’s online catalog. Also include volume number, issue, and page numbers of the article.
2. Complete the appropriate Course Reserve Request Form for Articles or Book Chapters

When course reserve requests are fulfilled, the items are added to a course reading list for that course. Instructors will receive an automatic notification when the library adds items to a course reading list via email with a link to the reading list.

To easily share links to electronic items on reserve for a class, instructors should enable the course reading list in their Canvas course. To enable a course reading list in the Canvas, follow these instructions.

Loan Periods

Faculty may select a loan period for the circulation of  reserve material

Textbooks are limited to 2-hours (in-library use only)

All other items:

2-hours (in-library use only)

3-hours (in-library use only)

1 day, 2 days, 3 days, or 7 days

Selection should be based on length of readings and class size. This loan period will not be changed during the semester. All Course Reserve and Permanent Reserve materials circulate to non-FGCU affiliates for 2-hour loan period, in-library-use only.

Check-out limits

No more than two reserve items per course may be charged out to a single borrower at one time. (Exception: book sets, or items comprised of several pieces that must be used together).

Personally Owned Materials

• Items will be marked or labeled for identification and circulation purposes.
• Owner must surrender control of the item to the Library during the period the item is held in the Reserve Collection.
• While every effort will be made to safeguard materials, the library will not be held responsible for any damage, theft, or loss of personal items placed in the Reserve Collection.

Material Not Eligible for Course Reserve

1. Reproduced articles, book chapters, audio or visual materials that exceed the fair use provisions as outlined in the Guidelines for Classroom Copying of Books and Periodicals
2. Materials grouped together so as to constitute an anthology of works. Such “course packets are not in compliance with “fair use” provisions of copyright law or guidelines. Written evidence of permission from all copyright holders and proof of payment of royalty fees is required. Faculty may use the services of the Campus Bookstore to legally produce Course Packets
3. Materials not owned by the FGCU Library, or the requesting faculty member without explicit written consent from the property owner
4. Materials borrowed from another library (Interlibrary Loan items)
5. Items that are too bulky, heavy, or oddly shaped that they are not conducive to appropriate processing, labeling, handling, shelving or circulating
6. Media materials that require equipment or software for use that is not owned or supported by the Library

Copyright Compliance

The FGCU Library determines copyright compliance based on the Guidelines for Classroom Copying agreed to by the Association of American Publishers and the Author’s League of America. The purpose of the guidelines is to state the minimum standards of educational fair use under Section 107 of H.R. 2223. For more complete provisions of copyright law as it pertains to copying for educational purposes see the U.S. Copyright Office's Circular 21 Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Libraries. In addition, provisions of the Digital Millinium Copyright Act of 1998 are considered when determining compliance in the access, manipulation and use of digital materials. For more thorough explanation of copyright law refer to the Library of Congress U.S. Copyright Office website at http://www.copyright.gov. The Library will refuse any material that it deems not in compliance with copyright laws and guidelines.

Copyright Permission

Library Services will obtain copyright permissions, and pay reasonable royalty fees for items placed in the Reserve Collection. The Library uses the online service of the Copyright Clearance Center to obtain the majority of the copyright permissions. Occasionally rights holders must be contacted directly, which may delay processing the item for the Collection. Permission may or may not be granted by the copyright holder.

Copyright permission is needed when placing the following reproduced items (print or digital) in the Reserve Collection:

• Print or digital material for more than one semester
• All scanned and digitized items
• Copyrighted workbooks, tests, test booklets, or answer sheets
• Reproduced a material that exceeds the brevity guideline

Processing Time

Materials placed on reserve are usually available for use within three (3) business days after receipt. Every effort will be made to process materials and make them available in a timely manner. Factors that may affect processing time include:

1. Incomplete request forms or inaccurate citations.
2. Difficulties receiving permissions or locating copyright holders.
3. Request Forms not accompanied by the materials.
4. Materials that must be purchased by the FGCU Library.
5. Untimely submission of Request Forms and materials.

Access to Course Reserve Material

Course reserves will be made available in one of two formats, hard copy or digital.

Hard-copy materials
Hard copy (printed) items can be identified using the Course Reserves and Textbook search in EagleSearch (the library catalog) or the course reading list platform. Materials are housed in the Reserve Collection at the Circulation Desk. A FGCU ID or other acceptable library card is required to borrow hard copy course reserves (See Circulation/Borrowing Policy for more information).

Digital materials (E-Reserves)

Articles/book chapters are scanned and made available in digital form whenever possible. These titles are accessed through the Course Reading list platform.

The most recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view items made available online in pdf format.

Removing Items from Reserve

All Course Reserve items (print and digital) are removed from the Reserve Collection at the end of each semester. Faculty may select an earlier removal through indicating an “off reserve” date on the Reserve Request Form.

Faculty may not remove materials from the Course Reserve Collection, including personal items, for later return to the Collection during the same semester. Faculty must check-out course reserve material through the normal circulating process, adhering to the designated loan period

Retaining Materials on Reserve

In order to retain reproduced or digital materials on reserve for a second semester (consecutive or not) a copyright permission must be obtained and often a royalty fee is required. Additionally, a new Reserve Request Form must be submitted, as if it is a new request. (Material need not be resubmitted provided that the new Reserve Request Form is submitted before materials are removed from the Reserve Collection at the end of the semester.)

Fines and Replacement Costs

Overdue Course Reserve materials are fined at 25 cents per hour, per item. There is no maximum overdue fine. (See Circulation/Borrowing Policy for more information on overdue fines, replacement costs and fine appeals.)