Course Reserves

Students may borrow physical course reserve materials from the Library Service Desk on the 1st floor while the library building is open. 

During the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, Reserve materials will be provided in electronic format whenever possible. Some electronic texts assigned by your instructor may be posted directly to your Canvas course website. Students can also search the Course Books at the Library for electronic library items assigned by instructors. If you are faculty interested in requesting or removing course reserve materials, please submit a Course Reserve Request Form.

Faculty may request digitization of Library-owned course-related media such as VHS and DVD for streaming. While classes are online due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Library will also accept requests for physical chapter scans. Media digitized for streaming will only be available in Canvas ​for the current semester.

How it works

All digitization requests start by filling out and submitting the Faculty Course Reserve & Digitization Form.
***Pro-tip*** If the library does not own the material this same form can be used by faculty to request materials to be purchased for course reserves.

Media digitization requests (such as VHS and DVD)

• Titles will only be accessible via the faculty member's Canvas course page.
• Titles will only be available to students enrolled in the course ​for the current semester.
• ​If you have a "Needed by" date or would like to use digitized materials in a future semester, please indicate this in the special instructions box at the bottom of the form.

Physical chapter scan requests

• If the library does not already own the physical book, first we will attempt to acquire the e-book. Upon request, we will consider purchase of the physical book if the e-book is not available. When the physical book has been received we will scan select chapters for faculty to upload to Canvas.
• If the library already owns the physical book (or have an instructor’s personal copy on reserve), first we will attempt to acquire the e-book. If the e-book is not available, we will scan select chapters for faculty to upload to Canvas upon request.
• Scans are sent directly to faculty via a secure file transfer protocol email, sent from the Reserves Team.

***Pro-tip***  Send your requests in as soon as you can so the library can start the process. E-books are the fastest to acquire and process, but if we need to scan this can take quite some time. With uncertainty around staff working in the library building, it is best to give us as much lead time as possible so we can meet your requests.

For more information about obtaining chapter scans or other media digitization, visit our Course Reserves Guide.

Faculty can submit a course reserve request at any time using the online Course Reserve Request Form located on the library website. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance of the date course materials will be used in class. Requests will be processed in the order they are received. 

Materials accepted for reserve include library owned print or ebooks and other media such as DVDs and CDs.

Faculty may also request digitization of media to imbed into a Canvas course for streaming. Please use the Course Reserve Request Form to make a digitization request. 

The Library also accepts instructor owned print books and other media.

The Library accepts print books, ebooks, and other physical media such as DVDs and CDs to be placed on course reserve.

Instructors can request library owned materials or provide their own personal copies for reserve. Personal copies are discoverable in OneSearch, and any currently enrolled student with a library account in good standing will be allowed to borrow an instructor's personal copy on reserve. When searching within the Course Reserves scope, only items on reserve will be displayed.

If the Library owns the exact copy of a personal copy being placed on reserve, we will pull the library copy from the shelf and add it to your course reading list.

We do not accept items that can be accessed via Canvas including scanned materials such as book chapters, journal articles, course readers, and links to journal articles. 

Yes! Instructors will receive an email when materials have been processed and are available for students to borrow. 

Please submit new course reserve requests at least two weeks in advance of the date course materials will be used in class. Requests will be processed in the order they are received. Depending on demand, processing can take up to two weeks to complete. 

To inquire about the status of your course reserve request, contact us at lib-reserve@csus.edu.

Instructors can view their active course reading lists any time by using the Course Reserve Browse Tool. You can quickly filter by instructor name or course to see all course materials available on specific course reading lists. 

If the Library does not own a title you are requesting for reserve, you may submit a personal copy or request a purchase through the online course reserve request form. The Library follows specific guidelines when considering purchases for course reserve:

• The Library does not purchase most textbooks. We define textbooks as books specifically intended for classroom use, often published in multiple editions that may include discussion topics, problems and study questions, or other pedagogical apparatus.
• The Library will consider purchasing textbooks under $200 if they provide the only or best coverage of a subject, or if they represent a significant or historical study of the subject. 
• A single copy of the most current edition or format may be considered for purchase.
• We encourage you to consider incorporating affordable educational content offered through the CSU's Affordable Learning Solutions website.

Instructors will be notified of the status of their course reserve purchase request via email. 

When submitting your course reserve request, select Library will provide as the owner if you are unable to determine if the Library owns an item. We will either pull the item from the Library's collection or consider it for purchase. Please allow additional time for ordering and processing for all course reserve purchase requests. 

Instructors placing materials on reserve have the option of assigning one of four loan periods:

• 2 hours
• 24 hours
• 3 days
• 1 week

Materials will remain on reserve for the current semester unless the instructor requests a specific date for removal. The Library does not have a permanent reserve collection, and materials cannot remain on reserve indefinitely.

All reserve items not specifically requested for another semester are removed from course reserve at the end of each semester. Personal copies are returned to instructors via campus mail or may be picked up from the 1st floor Library Service Desk any time before they are mailed out. 

If you would like to extend materials into the following semester, please contact the Reserve Team before the end of the current semester.

Email: lib-reserve@csus.edu

Phone: (916) 278-6708

Instructors' personal copies will be processed by library staff to facilitate circulation and monitoring by our Integrated Library System. 

• Brief cataloging will be done to ensure the item is discoverable in OneSearch by students, faculty, and staff.
• Instructor copies are not considered library property and will be completely withdrawn from the Library's system when the item is no longer on reserve.
• Minimal external labeling will be applied to ensure Library staff can identify instructor copies as such.

Instructors can view their active course reading lists any time by using the Course Reserve Browse Tool. You can quickly filter by instructor name or course to see all course materials available on specific course reading lists.