Many faculty members place materials on reserve for student use.  This system allows everyone in a class equal access through use of short-term checkout periods.  

Reserves are available for check out at the circulation desk of Stephens Library.  Loan periods are set by the professor at 2-hour or 4-hour “In Library Use Only” items; or 24-hour or 48-hour loan items which a student may take out of the library. Reserve material loans are restricted to currently enrolled students and currently employed faculty and staff members.  A borrower’s record must be clear of all fines, bills, and blocks to check out reserve items.  Borrowers are limited to three reserve items at a time. 

As reserves are short-term checkouts, borrowers are responsible for observing the length of checkout time allotted, and whether the item is "In Library Use Only" or whether the item may leave the Library.  Tags on each item will show this information and also alert that fines will occur for overdue items. 

Non-receipt of overdue and billing notices does not exempt users from fines or replacement costs.  All Library notices are sent to official Stephens email accounts.  Students, faculty, and staff are responsible for checking their Stephens College email regularly.

The borrower is responsible for overdue, missing, billed, or damaged materials.  Fines and replacement costs will be assessed accordingly.  To avoid fines and fees, please return reserve items to the Library Circulation desk before they are overdue.  In the event that the Library is closed, please use the drop-box at the front of the Library between the two front doors to return reserve items.  Overdue reserve items will automatically trigger a library block, and billed items and assessed fines will be entered into "My Stephens/PowerCampus."

Fines and replacement costs for reserve items can be paid by cash or check at Stephens Library Circulation.  The library will order any needed replacement copies.  Please contact the Library at (573) 876-7182 or circulation@stephens.edu concerning a lost or damaged book or other reserve questions.

Reserve Information For Faculty

To place an item(s) on reserve, please fill out the reserve form and send it along with the item to the Library Circulation Department, campus box 2054, or drop off materials at the front desk of the library.  Please allow three working days for materials to appear on reserve for student use.

The library will work with faculty members to give extended checkout periods for items they have placed on reserve for student use, but may need to check out themselves for classroom use.  Those faculty members may get a reminder notice if a course reserve item they still hold has become overdue.

Stephens Library will not replace faculty member’s personal copies, nor departmental copies, of books, documents, kits or media items, that have been lost or damaged while on reserve, for a cost greater than $150 per item.

Due to privacy concerns, sign-in sheets for student checkout to track course reserves will not be used.  Exceptions are made for sign-in sheet use for faculty committees, or groups such as Mortar Board.

Copyright Compliance

Items appropriate for reserves include Stephens Library materials or legally acquired materials from a faculty member’s personal collection.  Stephens Library will work to acquire items that can be purchased for the library’s collection and then placed on reserve for a class.  Purchasing materials assures copyright compliance for placement on reserves.  Stephens Library cannot place on Reserve books or other items that have been borrowed through MOBIUS or Interlibrary Loan.

Libraries are bound by certain restrictions and prohibitions in regard to reserve materials.  We may need to consult with a faculty member to seek out appropriate work-arounds so that the materials are copyright compliant in a reserve setting. 

Each faculty member is responsible for checking for Fair Use, or obtaining copyright permission if necessary.  If copyright permission is needed for a reserve item and the faculty member did not obtain permission, then the library will obtain permission. Those costs will be billed back to the faculty member’s department’s printing/copying account. 

Please contact the circulation desk at Stephens Library if a sample form letter is needed to obtain copyright permission from a publisher or a copyright owner/holder, or a Fair Use checklist to see if the project falls under Fair Use.  The contact information for circulation is (573) 876-7182 or circulation@stephens.edu.

The library accepts photocopied copyrighted materials for reserve purposes according to copyright Fair Use guidelines.  Copying should not substitute for the purchase of books, publishers’ reprints or periodicals.  Educational use is not automatically Fair Use.  It may be considered infringing on copyright if the use substantially interferes with the copyright owners/holders right to profit from their creative endeavor.

Examples of photocopied materials requiring permission:

• Repetitive Copying: The classroom or reserve use of photocopied materials in multiple courses OR in successive years will normally require advance permission from the owner of the copyright.

• Consumable Works: The duplication of works that are consumed in the classroom, such as standardized tests and booklets, answer sheets, exercises, and workbooks, normally requires permission from the copyright owner.

• Course packs: require proof of copyright permission to place on reserve initially, and subsequent permissions are needed for each of the various materials for successive placement on reserve in the future.

Copying shall not be used to re-create or replace anthologies, compilations or collective works.

Remember that Stephens Library will work with any faculty or staff member to acquire copyright compliant reserve materials.