Reserve for Faculty -- Frequently Asked Questions
General
What is Reserve?
How can I contact Reserve?
What's the difference between Regular and Electronic
Reserve?
May I use Electronic
Reserve documents with Blackboard?
How may I submit Reserve requests?
Where may I read specific guidelines for Reserve
requests?
Regular Reserve
How many items may I place
on Reserve?
How many copies of an item may I request for Reserve?
What if the Library doesn't own a book I'd like to place
on Reserve for my course?
May I place Interlibrary Loan (ILL) books on Reserve?
May I place Special Collections items on Reserve?
May I place my personal copies of books on Reserve?
May I place photocopied materials on Reserve?
How long does processing take?
I'm late! I need my Regular Reserve request processed
as soon as possible! What can I do?
Electronic Reserve
How many items may I place
on Electronic Reserve? How large can each item be?
May I place copyrighted materials on Electronic
Reserve?
How long does processing take?
I'm late! I need my Electronic Reserve request processed
as soon as possible! What can I do?
May I use Electronic Reserve documents with Blackboard?
Reserve and Copyright
What copyright issues apply
to Reserve items?
Who applies for copyright permission for Reserve items?
What options do I have if Reserve is unable to obtain
copyright clearance?
What is the background of your copyright guidelines?
General
What is Reserve? 
Reserve is a library service that allows instructors
to set aside books and articles for class use, or make articles or book
excerpts available online. Regular and Electronic Reserve lists may contain
required and/or recommended reading. This reduces student expenses by
ensuring free access to books and other materials, and allows students
to easily access out-of-print or expensive books.
The Main Reserve Desk is located on the Second Floor, North Tower of NU's
Main Library.
How can I contact Reserve?
You may reach us by email or by phone at (847) 491-7681. Full-time staff are generally available to assist you between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
What's the difference between Regular and Electronic
Reserve?
Regular Reserve enables your class to equitably share
items without the worry of tracking down books in the NU Library system.
It enhances the accessibility of items for your students, including photocopied
materials as well as books, by enabling students to check out class materials
from a central location for a short loan period.
Electronic Reserve (ERS) enables NU students to access a digital document
through the Library's online catalog, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week,
from their personal computer or any campus terminal. ERS items can be
accessed as often as necessary by students in your class, using their
NU netids and passwords.
Copyright law places some restrictions on Reserve use of copyrighted material,
particularly use by Electronic Reserve. Click here
for more information.
May I use Electronic Reserve documents with
Blackboard?
Faculty members frequently use Electronic Reserve documents with Northwestern's Blackboard Course Management System. Such items are subject to the same policies as other Electronic Reserve items, with one important exception: documents processed for Blackboard will not be posted in the Library's online catalog. Rather, Reserve will email each completed document's URL to the instructor for inclusion on the appropriate Blackboard page. Reserve is NOT responsible for the construction or support of Blackboard pages; all technical support for Blackboard is handled through Academic Technologies (467-7046).
How may I submit Reserve requests?
You may submit Reserve requests in person or via Campus
Mail or email. 
Adobe
Acrobat PDF versions of our Reserve request forms can be found here:
Regular Reserve submission form
Electronic Reserve submission form
In response to faculty requests, we will soon have a dynamic PDF form
which you will be able to fill out online and submit directly to us with
the click of a button.
Where may I read specific guidelines for Reserve
requests?
Regular Reserve
Guidelines
Electronic Reserve Guidelines
Regular Reserve
How many items may I place on Reserve?
As detailed in our Regular Reserve guidelines, individual classes are generally limited to 20 items on Reserve.
How many copies of an item may I request for Reserve?
Reserve has found that one copy of an item, placed on Reserve with a 2-hour loan period, adequately serves 50 students. Additional arrangements can be made if there is reason to believe that one copy will be insufficient, but such arrangements may be subject to copyright restrictions.
What if the Library doesn't own a book I'd like
to place on Reserve for my course?
Reserve will order in-print items for use by your class. Receiving new book orders may cause significant delay, however; please submit your list at least three weeks in advance (earlier is always better!) if you believe Reserve will have to order one or more items for your class.
May I place Interlibrary Loan (ILL) books on Reserve?
In general, Reserve is unable to place ILL books on Reserve. As noted above, Reserve will be happy to order books needed for your class.
May I place Special Collections items on Reserve?
At the request of Special Collections staff, Reserve is generally unable to place Special Collections items on Reserve.
May I place my own copies of books on Reserve?
We routinely place personal copies of books on Reserve. Please write your name legibly in the front of the book so that we can easily return it to you via Campus Mail at the end of the academic term. (If a personal copy is too large to be accommodated by Campus Mail, we request that you collect it yourself at the end of the academic term.) However, note that we will use the Library's copy if NU owns the same book and it is currently available.
May I place photocopied materials on Reserve?
Tests, class notes, and other original work may be placed
on Reserve without restriction. Photocopies of copyrighted materials (journal
articles or book chapters, e.g.) may also be placed on Reserve, but such
materials may be limited by copyright restrictions.
Due to clear copyright restrictions, course packs may not be placed on
Reserve.
How long does processing take?
Please submit your complete request at least three weeks
before you'd like your Reserve materials to be available for your students.
During busy periods, such as the beginning of each academic term, we may
be unable to process Reserve requests without sufficient lead-time.
We will always endeavor to serve you as quickly as possible! Our processing
guidelines exist so that we can simultaneously address the diverse needs
of numerous instructors and their students.
I'm late! I need my Regular Reserve request processed
as soon as possible! What can I do?
If your list includes NU Library books, you may retrieve
the books yourself; ensure that your Reserve request form is complete;
and hand-deliver all of this to the Main Reserve Desk in the Main Library.
Such submissions can often be processed the same day we receive them.
If your list includes photocopies, refer to our Fair Use guidelines to
determine which items may require copyright permission. Requesting permission
from rightsholders can be a protracted procedure and will frequently delay
the processing of your request. If you are concerned about a chapter or
excerpt exceeding our Fair Use parameters, consider placing the original
book on Reserve rather than a photocopy.
Electronic Reserve
How many items may I place on Electronic Reserve?
How large can each item be?
As detailed in our Electronic Reserve guidelines, individual classes are generally limited to placing 20 items on Reserve. Each Electronic Reserve item can be up to 45 pages in length.
May I place copyrighted materials on Electronic
Reserve?
Tests, class notes, and other original work may be placed
on Electronic Reserve without restriction. Copyrighted material (journal
articles or book chapters, e.g.) may also be processed for Electronic
Reserve, but such material may be limited by copyright restrictions. If
any of your items exceeds our Fair Use parameters,
we will be unable to process those items until we receive permission from
the copyright holder.
Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to place either course packs
or entire books on Electronic Reserve.
How long does processing take?
Please submit your complete request, including high-quality
photocopies or the original source of each requested item, at least three
weeks before you'd like your Electronic Reserve materials to be available
for your students. If any of your requested items is available electronically
(class notes or papers, for example), providing us with the electronic
file will greatly expedite Electronic Reserve processing. Additionally,
please submit a date by which each item should be available to your students;
in order to serve all faculty equitably, we are generally unable to process
an entire quarter's Electronic Reserve request at one time.
During busy periods, such as the beginning of each academic term, we will
be unable to process Reserve requests with less than three weeks lead-time.
We will always endeavor to serve you as quickly as possible! Our processing
guidelines exist so that we can simultaneously address the diverse needs
of numerous instructors and their students.
I'm late! I need my Electronic Reserve request
processed as soon as possible! What can I do?
During busy periods, such as the beginning of each academic
term, we will be unable to process Electronic Reserve requests with less
than three weeks of lead-time. At other times, you can expedite the processing
of your list by ensuring that your photocopies are high-quality and include
the copyright page as well as a full citation, and that your ERS request
form is complete and lists dates by which each item should be available
to your students.
Refer to our Fair Use guidelines to determine which
items may require copyright permission. Requesting permission from rightsholders
can be a protracted procedure and will frequently delay the processing
of your request. If you are concerned about an electronic item exceeding
our Fair Use parameters, consider placing the original book on Reserve
rather than a digital scan.
Reserve and Copyright
What copyright issues apply to Reserve items?
All material that Reserve processes for Regular or Electronic
Reserve must fall within Fair Use guidelines, or the Right of First Sale,
or receive copyright permission from the copyright holder.
If your materials fall within the following Fair Use guidelines, copyright
permission is not necessary for Electronic Reserve or photocopying:
Up to 10% of a single book.
One article from a single issue of a periodical title.
Exceptions to the above:
Items kept on Reserve quarter after quarter, whether or not the items
themselves fall within Fair Use.
Multiple essays, stories, poems, etc. written by different authors but
included in the same book, e.g. anthologies, textbooks.
Coursepacks.
Who applies for copyright permission for Reserve
items?
Reserve staff will obtain copyright clearance. Copyright
clearance may take several weeks to obtain, however, so be sure to send
us items requiring permission well in advance of when they will be needed.
Please note that until an Electronic Reserve request receives copyright
permission, Reserve will be unable to scan it.
What options do I have if Reserve is unable to
obtain copyright clearance?
You may place the physical book on Reserve. The Right of First Sale allows us to place any library- or personally-owned book on Reserve any number of times.
What is the background of your copyright
guidelines?
Current copyright law contains many controversial sections. For a more detailed list of guidelines and a summary of the law's effects on Reserve, please visit our Reserve and Copyright page.
e-reserve@northwestern.edu