Course Reserves

---

Library course reserves play a vital role in supporting student success by providing immediate access to required course materials, reducing financial burdens, and promoting equitable access to educational resources. By offering course reserves, GC Library contributes to a more inclusive and financially accessible educational experience for all students.

Reserve materials are kept at the Circulation Desk. Students can check out reserve materials with a valid GC ID. To place item(s) on reserve, please review the Course Reserve Policies and complete a Faculty Reserve Request Form.

Course Reserve Policy 

• To place items on reserve, faculty must complete and submit a Faculty Reserve Request Form. Incomplete forms will delay processing
• Please submit requests at least two weeks before the start of class
• Requests will be processed in the order they are received
• Please allow at least 48 hours for materials to be processed and made available for students to borrow.
• Professor copies will be returned to faculty at the end of the semester unless otherwise noted.
• The library cannot take responsibility for damage occurring to these books in the normal course of use. 

To expedite your request, faculty should bring all items to be placed on reserve to the Circulation Desk after completing the Faculty Reserve Request Form. 

What May be Placed on Reserve:

Books

• GC Library-owned 
• Faculty/Department Copies (books owned by the faculty member or department)

Textbooks

• The library does not purchase textbooks. Textbooks must be provided by the instructor. 
• CDs that are packaged with the textbook cannot be submitted for course reserves as a “stand-alone” item. For the library to avoid copyright violations, the CD must come with the book or the instructor must have permission to use the CD as a stand-alone.
• Textbooks with consumable content, such as fill-in-the-blank questions, cannot be placed on reserve if students are encouraged by the instructor to photocopy the “consumable” pages.

Photocopies or scanned articles

• These materials can remain on course reserve for 3 years. A complete copy of the Fair Use Checklist must be submitted along with the copies or scans. 

DVDs

• Faculty or library-owned

What May Not be Placed on Course Reserve:

• Reference books
• Material borrowed through Interlibrary Loan
• Photocopies of individual articles or book chapters. Please use Canvas to make documents accessible to students while respecting fair use as defined in United States Code Section 17 U.S. Code § 107.  If the Library owns a book that contains a chapter you would like to place on reserve, library staff will place the book on reserve.

Faculty Copies

Faculty are encouraged to lend copies of required course textbooks to the library for reserve use. These items will have brief records added to the library catalog and will have minimal physical processing.  Reserve books will be returned to faculty at the end of the semester unless otherwise noted. The library cannot take responsibility for damage occurring to these books in the normal course of use. 

Loan Periods

Faculty may specify any of the following loan periods for reserve material:

• Two hours (in-library use only)
• Overnight
• Three days
• One week
• Materials will be taken off reserve at the end of the semester unless otherwise noted by the instructor.
• Reserves must be returned before closing on the date due. Holds may not be placed on reserve material.

Lost or Damaged Item Policy

Library staff does their best to protect personally owned items that are submitted for course reserve, but patrons occasionally fail to return items. Accidental damage occurs and items are subjected to regular wear and tear.

In the case of damage or loss, GC Library is not responsible for replacing the item. A replacement cost is charged to the patron, but this money is not made available to the library to purchase a new item. To offset this, with instructor approval, library staff will extend the option to patrons of replacing the item themselves. The replacement must be the same title/edition and in comparable condition. 

Fines

Students are charged fines for reserves items returned late at a rate of $1.00 per hour and $5.00 per day. Additional fees and book replacement costs may also apply.

Ready to Place an Item on Reserve?