Definition and Purpose of Course Reserves
Course reserves are materials (including books, disks, AV materials, journal articles and/or photocopies, electronic resources, instructional equipment and non-book items) chosen by the faculty to support class instruction. The materials are maintained in a separate location within a library, and access to the material is more restricted than is the access to items in general circulation.
The purpose of a reserve collection is to:
- support the needs of a defined group of patrons within the Grinnell College community (usually a class)
- provide timely, convenient, and efficient access to high-demand materials; and
- protect materials that are at a high risk of theft or vandalism.
Several of the general principles that govern the acquisition of materials for the Grinnell College Libraries support the use of the material in the course reserve system. In particular:
- All collections in the Grinnell College Libraries, regardless of format, are acquired by the College for nonprofit educational purposes by students, staff, faculty and authorized users.
- All library materials are acquired with the understanding that there will be multiple uses made of the item.
- With journals, the Grinnell College Libraries frequently must pay a premium institutional subscription price, which may be many times an individual subscription price, for the privilege of supporting multiple academic users.
The Libraries' course reserve systems are a traditional library service that will be provided in a manner that respects the rights of copyright holders and the limitations to those rights as specified in current copyright law.
General Course Reserve Copyright Guidelines
The Grinnell College guidelines on copying for course reserve reading services derive from the fair use provisions of the copyright law of the United States as found in Section 107 of Title 17 of the United States Code. Section 107 expressly permits the making of multiple copies for classroom use. Such educational copying is one of the six illustrative examples of acceptable fair use given in the section. The text of Section 107 is:
"Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified in that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include
1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
The Libraries reserve the right to refuse to place on course reserve any material that appears to violate these copyright guidelines.
The reproduction of copyright-protected works for library reserve services falls into an unsettled area of the law which may be addressed in future revisions of the copyright law or through adjudication. Grinnell College will monitor legal developments which may affect the fair use analysis of reserve services to ensure that library services are in compliance with the letter and spirit of the United States copyright law.
Specific Guidelines for Placing Books and Journal Issues on Course Reserves
At the request of the instructor, the Libraries will place on physical reserve published copies of monographs, textbooks, and similar material for the non-commercial, educational use of students, whether these are owned by the Libraries, another Grinnell College department, or the instructor.
Books and journal issues (bound or unbound) that are owned by the Grinnell College Libraries, other College departments, or individual members of the College faculty may be placed on library reserve without restrictions. If class size justifies, the Libraries will order additional copies.
Books not owned by the Libraries, the faculty member or the department: The libraries will initiate expedited orders to purchase any books required for course reserves.
Note: The national interlibrary loan code prohibits borrowing books from other libraries for the purpose of placing them on reserve at the borrowing institution.
How to place a book on reserve
To place a Grinnell College Libraries-owned book or a faculty or department-owned book on reserve bring the book to the Burling Circulation Desk and fill out a book reserve request form. (Please note: the reserve item must be the actual book, not a photocopied portion.)
Specific Guidelines on the Reproduction of Copyrighted Materials for Inclusion in Course Reserves
Photocopies or electronic scans created from books or journal issues owned by the Grinnell College Libraries, other College departments, or the instructor may be used one semester for each course and each instructor. Subsequent uses will require permission from (and requisite payment to) the holder of the copyright.
Note: If the College has licensed electronic access to an article, a link will be created through the course reserve list in the Libraries' catalog. Copies of the electronic file will not be downloaded into the electronic reserve system.
Copies or scans created from journal issues or books that are not owned by the Grinnell College Libraries, other College departments, or the instructor may be used in course reserve only with permission of the copyright owner and payment of any requisite fee. Fair use does not apply in such cases.
The Libraries are responsible for requesting copyright permission on behalf of the College and the instructor. Copyright royalty payments are limited to $150 for an individual item or a cumulative total of $1000 for all the items on reserve for a particular course. Charges in excess will be the responsibility of the instructor, the department, or the concentration. Exceptions may be requested from the Librarian of the College.
How to place a copy of an article or chapter on reserve
Reserve requests should be made through the Electronic Reserve Request Form (http://web.grinnell.edu/library/ereservesform/). The Libraries work closely with Academic Support Assistants (http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/dean/acadsup/) in completing faculty requests for course reserve. In general, the Support Assistants are responsible for copying and scanning course reserve materials and delivering those to the Library, while the Library is responsible for researching and managing copyright clearances, checking for online availability of requested texts, posting files in the electronic reserve system, and creating index entries. Faculty with electronic reserve requests should generally initiate those requests with their support assistants.
The following considerations will govern the making of new copies (reproductions) at the instructor's request, in print or electronic form for Reserve, of copyrighted material in the Reserve program under the definition of "fair use":
- The source of the reproduction must be "lawfully owned." Lawfully owned sources include:
- Library-owned copies of books and journal issues
- Instructor-owned copies of books and journal issues.
- Lawfully owned sources will be used once for each course under the fair-use provision. After the first use, the College will seek copyright permission for use in e-reserve. If the source is not an original owned by the College or the faculty member, then copyright permission will be requested (and payment made) even for first-time uses.
- The reproduction will include either the original copyright notice or -- if there is no notice published in the item -- a generic copyright warning: "This material may be protected by copyright. Further dissemination is prohibited."
- The reproduction will represent a small proportion of the whole copyrighted work:
- 1 article from a single journal issue
- 1 chapter from a book
- No more than 10% of the whole in any case
Requests for amounts that exceed these guidelines will require copyright permission and (as determined by the copyright owner) payment of a royalty.
- The frequency of use will be limited to one semester per course. Uses after the first use will require permission and (as determined by the copyright owner) payment of a royalty.
- The duration of access will be limited: access to electronic copies will be removed at the end of the course and photocopies supplied by faculty will be returned by the end of the semester (or sooner if not needed for physical reserve).
- Access to the reproduction will be limited: the reproductions will be indexed only by course title and professor, and electronic access will be limited to authenticated members of the Grinnell community.
- The Libraries will not reproduce or accept for print or electronic reserve works intended to be "consumable" in the course of studying or teaching such as published workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, test booklets and answer sheets. However, exercises, tests, and similar material created by the instructor may be copied and/or placed on Reserve at the instructor's request.
- There is generally a limit of $150 per item and $1,000 per course per semester for copyright permissions for print or electronic reserve. Higher limits may be approved in extraordinary circumstances.
Specific guidelines for placing videos and recordings on reserve
Videos and recordings owned by the Grinnell College Libraries may be placed on library reserve. Copying is not permitted.
Videos and recordings not owned by the Grinnell College Libraries: The libraries will initiate expedited orders to purchase any videos or recordings required for course reserves. Pending the receipt of videos or recordings so ordered, the libraries may place personal copies belonging to instructors on reserve. Personal copies will be removed from reserve when the library-purchased copy is received. Neither videos rented by instructors at video rental outlets nor off-the-air recordings may be placed on reserve.
If requested by the class instructor, tracks from and, in some cases, entire musical recordings owned by the Grinnell College Libraries may be streamed and made available for class assignments through the libraries' reserve system. Access to such streamed media requires a student or faculty identification and a password. The instructor and the Listening Room supervisor decide jointly when streaming is appropriate and possible.
How to place a video or recording on reserve
Videos and recordings may be placed on reserve and/or streamed by filling out the Reserves Request Form for Listening Room and AV Center.
To order an item not in the collections or for additional information, please contact Randye Jones at jonesran@grinnell.edu or 269-3365.
Copyright Resources
Questions and help
Sherry Shults, Circulation Supervisor, x3350
Gail Bonath, Associate Librarian of the College, x3358
Richard Fyffe, Librarian of the College, x3351
For recordings and videos: Randye Jones, Listening Room Supervisor, x3365
