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Electronic Reserves and Reserves Policies and Procedures

Policies

  • Materials are placed on Reserves and Electronic Reserves (E-Reserves) only at the request of Saint Louis University instructors for the non-commercial, educational use of their students.
  • Appropriate materials for Reserves and E-Reserves include, but are not limited to lecture notes, past examinations, government publications, other public domain materials, articles from journals, and book chapters.
  • Books, videos, CDs and other materials may be placed on Traditional Print Reserves for two hour, three hour or three day check out.
  • Public domain materials, most government documents, and most links to articles and books may be placed on reserve without any copyright restrictions. Persistent links will be provided (in ERes) for articles in licensed journals and databases or for electronic books whenever possible.
  • Copyrighted materials must follow “Fair Use” guidelines as set by U.S. Copyright Law. See Reserves and Electronic Reserves Guide.
  • Access to materials on E-Reserves is available from the E-Reserves web page either by the instructor’s name or the course name or course number and is limited by password to students enrolled in each course. 
  • E-Reserve course pages are removed at the end of each semester.
  • All E-Reserve courses have the following copyright statement:  
    The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of fair use that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
  • Students are not charged for access. If students choose to print an item, the charge is limited to the cost of printing.
  • Materials not owned or licensed by the libraries will be purchased whenever possible.
  • All materials placed on Reserves and E-Reserves must be legally obtained and owned by the libraries, another unit of the university, or the instructor; or licensed by Saint Louis University or one of its divisions. To place a student's work on Reserves or E-Reserves, written permission from the student is needed and should be submitted with the request.
    Materials placed on E-Reserves will not be placed on Traditional Print Reserves.
  • If there is doubt about fair use of certain reserve materials, copyright permission will be sought from the copyright holder, in most instances by the libraries. The libraries will apply for permission through the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), or to the copyright holder directly if CCC cannot provide copyright permission. All copyrighted materials that are repeatedly used in subsequent semesters, must have copyright permission. The library will immediately remove any materials that are denied copyright permission. In the case of denial, the instructor will be notified.
  • Lengthy works that are under copyright, such as complete books, will not be placed on E-Reserves unless the work is out of print* and the faculty member provides documented permission from the copyright holder. (Emails are not acceptable documentation)
  • The libraries will pay for copyright permission, but reserve the right to refuse materials for Reserves and E-Reserves when the cost for copyright permission is too high. The libraries' policy regarding payment of copyright fees is subject to change contingent upon library budget constraints.

Procedures - Electronic Reserves (ERes)

Processing Time

E-Reserves materials are processed in the order received and as quickly as possible. Please allow a minimum of five to seven working days, particularly at the beginning of each term. Materials may be added before the term begins or later in the term and are usually processed in a shorter time period.

Hard Copy Specifications

Transferring material to PDF files is easier and faster when:

  • The material is submitted on single-sided 8 ½ X 11 paper.
  • All copies are as clear and clean as possible. (Blurred or blackened copies as well as copies with a lot of underlining are difficult to read on E-Reserves, take up extra space on the PDF file, and increase downloading time.)
  • Text is free of highlighting since it may blacken the print underneath.

Note: Artwork and photographs may not scan clearly. Traditional Print Reserves may be used as an option.

Submitting Materials

The Materials may be submitted in a variety of formats (e.g. photocopies, electronic format, or digital links).

  • Fill out the E-Reserves Request Form found here:
  • The best form is 
    It will take the least amount of processing time. Make sure to include all bibliographic information.
  • For books: author, title, publisher, year of publication and exact page numbers.
  • For journal articles: journal title, volume, issue, year and exact page numbers.
    If you choose this request form Faculty Request Form (ERes)
     follow the directions below:
  • Submit the materials and the source of each item.
  • For books: author, title, publisher, year of publication and exact page numbers.
  • For journal articles: journal title, volume, issue, year and exact page numbers.
  • Journal articles will be linked when possible, so if you know we have a persistent link, you do not have to make photocopies, just provide the necessary information.

Traditional Print Reserves - Books or Media

Fill out the Traditional Reserves Form
/library/services/-pdf/print-reserves-request-form-2016.pdf for books or media. If the materials are library owned, the library staff will retrieve the materials. If the materials are instructor owned, please submit them with the form.


Please allow a minimum of five to seven working days for processing at the beginning of the term. Processing time is much shorter before the term or later in the term.