How to Place Material on Course Reserves

Please submit all of your Course Reserve requests (books, articles, chapters, course lectures/notes) using the Course Reserves system. To ensure efficiency for all, please follow the instructions below. 

Logging In

To place Course Reserve requests, use the new Course Reserves system. Log in using your UCSB NetID.

If you are a new faculty member, when you log in for the first time, a screen will pop up that says, “Instructors, your courses will be automatically generated overnight and be available tomorrow.” When you log in again, you can then view current courses, upcoming courses, and previous courses that have been imported from the Docutek system.

Adding Items

Faculty can request that items be added to any current course they are teaching. Faculty can upload items, request that Library staff pull items from the shelves, or bring materials to the Library to be put on reserve. If you previously had material on Electronic Reserves, your previous courses will appear and you can choose to reactivate a class from the list. If a class you are currently teaching does not appear in the Current Courses or Upcoming Courses, please contact Course Reserves Staff.

Click on the Course Number for the course you wish to add items to:

 Then click on Add Reserve Items:

You can request to add different types of items (limit of 25 items):

All items you place on reserve will be reviewed by Course Reserves staff before being viewable by students. Please provide as much information as possible, including title, author, and call numbers for books and videos, and journal information and web links for articles and ebooks.

You have the option of adding Notes for the Course Reserves Staff (which will not appear on the public page). You can also add Tags to identify for your students which items are assigned for certain weeks.

For each Electronic Reserves item, you have options for supplying the item:

For physical books and videos, you have the option of bringing in the item or having Library staff pull the items from the shelves:

For streaming video requests, you will need to select:

Please visit the Films & Videos at UCSB: Instructional Media guide for more information on available streaming film options for instructional use.

Drop off Items at the Services Desk

Please drop off your items at the Services Desk in the library Paseo as early as possible before the start of the quarter. Items dropped off during the first week of a new quarter will incur processing delays.

A library staff member or student worker will fill out a form with you; please have the following information available:

•     Course Number (e.g., HIST 100A)
•     Course Name
•     Instructor Name
•     Contact Information (email or telephone number)
•     Bibliographic Information (you can find the call numbers needed by checking in our Library Catalog)

Library-Owned Titles

• Typically we can place on reserve any title and format that is available for check-out. If the item is checked out, we will rush recall it, which shortens the due date to 6 days. If you bring Library-owned titles for Course Reserves directly to the desk, they will be processed significantly faster than if our staff is required to pull them from the stacks. Non-circulating material (Reference and Special Research Collections material) may not be placed on reserve.
• If you know that the Library does not own a title, you may request a purchase order by submitting a Request with the relevant bibliographic Information. Please note:
  • Purchase orders requested through Course Reserves must be for course instruction. When the requested material arrives, it must go on reserve for the remainder of the quarter. Orders can be placed only for the current or subsequent academic quarter. Requests for subsequent quarters will be accepted approximately one month before the start of that quarter.
  • If you want to order an item to be added to the general collection, please submit a purchase request by using our Recommend a Purchase form. 
• In most cases when making purchases for Course Reserves, the Library’s default is to purchase an electronic item. When a digital item is not available, the library will defer to a physical copy if available. This includes films not available on Kanopy. If you have a preference for a physical format, please note this in your Course Reserves request so that we can try to fulfill it.  

Department and Faculty-Owned Titles

Due to space limitations, the Library does not purchase multiple copies of titles. If an instructor feels that their class size requires more than one copy, departmental and faculty-owned titles of textbooks or other titles needed for the class can be placed on reserve. These “faculty copies” will be marked, stickered, and possibly laminated.  They are sometimes damaged or lost while on reserve. The Library will not purchase replacement copies for these items.

Course Readers

• Course readers: Course readers must be bound before they are submitted. All copyright fees must be paid by the copy or duplication services. Course readers that are lost or damaged will not be replaced by the Library. Due to copyright restrictions, course readers can be on reserve only for the quarter for which they are packaged. Material from course readers may not be placed on Electronic Reserve.