University Libraries offers all teaching faculty and staff the opportunity to place material on reserve in order to ensure that all students in the class have access to it. All formats are acceptable, including print, e-books, journal articles, DVD/CD and streaming music/video.
Print and other physical formats can be placed on reserves for loan at any University Libraries location and e-formats are linked to individual course Canvas or Blackboard pages via my.UNL. Library staff is available to work with individual faculty and courses to provide personalized service.
Additional information and reserve submission forms are available here.
Course information submitted for summer 2017 by May 1 and fall 2017 by Aug. 7 will receive highest priority. Reserve requests turned in after the deadline will be processed in the order they are received.
I. Library books and personal books
Books can be physically put on reserve and made available in City and East campus libraries. Books can be requested from the libraries to be placed on reserve by using the electronic reserve form.
Personal copies of books will follow the same procedure as library books. The libraries are not responsible for personal copies placed on reserve.
A valid NCard is required to check out items on reserve. Books are reserved by the book’s title. If a chapter is assigned from a book, please make sure the syllabus lists the complete title of the book as it is listed in the library catalogue in addition to the chapter title.
II. Electronic reserves
All electronic reserves are attached to each course and can only be accessed through Canvas or Blackboard.
For more information on how to create a content area on Canvas or Blackboard, click here.
The types of materials that can be made available electronically include exams; lecture notes; student papers (which must be approved by the student); government publications; one article from a journal issue; and a chapter from a book.
Materials placed on Electronic Reserve are accessible only to students and others affiliated with the course. Photocopied materials consisting of two or more articles from a journal issue, or more than one chapter from a single book, must have copyright compliance or meet the criteria under the fair use guidelines for classroom copying in not-for-profit educational institutions.
A personal web page is also linked to the E-Reserve system. Email the URL, with the class name, instructor and phone number to one of the contact people listed at the end of the memo.
III. Processing time
A reserve list may take one to four business days for processing. Because a great number of requests are received from instructors to place items on reserve, please be aware that materials will not be processed and available at the time of submission.
Requests submitted on the first day of class and during the first three weeks of the fall, spring and summer semesters may experience some delay in processing. In the event that the materials requested are unavailable, the request will also experience some delay.
To ensure the requests are processed in a timely manner:
Supply complete citations of materials.
When requesting a personal copy of a book or other personal material placed on reserve, remember to include it with the request.
IV. Removing items from reserve
Reserve materials will be removed one week after the corresponding session has ended, unless the class is to be taught the following semester. Copyrighted items may not be renewed for consecutive semesters unless a letter of approval from the publisher is submitted.
For questions about reserve services, contact Zach Eden at Love Library at 402-472-2756 or Gayleen Hill at C.Y. Thompson Library at 402-472-4401 or LibrariesReserves@unl.edu.
