Course reserves are physical materials that instructors request to be set aside for use by students in a specific course, for a designated period of time. This service is available at both the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library and the Rudolph Matas Library of the Health Sciences.

At Howard-Tilton, instructors may submit a list of items for reserve using the Course Reserve Request Form. Requests at Matas Library are handled separately. Materials are kept on reserve only for the duration of the course. If a book will be used as assigned reading, instructors are encouraged to consult with a liaison librarian to explore whether an eBook version can be acquired. Please note that interlibrary loan items may not be placed on reserve.

Loan Periods 

Books can be placed on 3-day or strict reserve depending on availability. All reserve items must be returned directly to the Check-Out Desk. Items left on tables or returned via the indoor/outdoor book drop may accrue fines before being checked back in. 

Circulation options include: 

• Building use only: 2–5 hours (in one-hour increments)
• Unrestricted use: 1–3 days 

Media materials may be borrowed for the specified number of days and must be returned by the due date. Fines are $1.00 per day, up to a maximum of $20.00. 

Articles & Book Chapters 

Instructors may request scanned pages of books using the library’s Scan & Deliver service, available through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). These scans are delivered as PDFs and can be uploaded to Canvas for electronic reserve, in compliance with U.S. Copyright Law. 

For assistance with Canvas, contact the Innovative Learning Center at (504) 862-8594 or ilc@tulane.edu.

Alternatives to Reserves 

As an alternative to placing physical items on reserve, instructors are encouraged to link library-licensed digital resources directly in Canvas. See our Library Digital Resources as Course Materials guide here. 

The Innovative Learning Center, located on the library’s third floor, can assist with scanning and formatting materials for upload to Canvas. Contact: (504) 862-8594 or ilc@tulane.edu. 

Processing Time 

Please allow ample time for reserve processing, especially during the beginning of each semester when demand is high. When using the Scan & Deliver service, instructors should plan ahead to ensure materials are delivered to their ILL account in time. 

Copyright Guidelines 

Copyright restrictions limit the placement of the same item on reserve for the same course and instructor to one semester. The item can be placed on reserve again: 

• After skipping a semester
• For the same course under a different instructor 

At the end of each semester, instructors will be contacted to retrieve their materials. If not picked up within the designated timeframe (usually two weeks), items may become library property and disposed of at the library’s discretion. 

Contact for questions: 
 Hayden Battle, Head of Access Services 

Textbooks

In order to promote equal access to course readings, librarians can now purchase select required course materials. These are defined as required readings for a course as assigned by the instructor and include books and book chapters, journal articles, and textbooks, among other things. To request streaming media for course materials, please use Media Reserves (https://library.tulane.edu/locations/media/media-reserves) .

Faculty are encouraged to place print textbooks or other assigned print materials on course reserves. Faculty are responsible for filling out the course reserves form (https://library.tulane.edu/course-reserves-books) .

In addition to purchasing assigned course books and offering course reserves for materials already in our collections, librarians are available to help faculty locate freely available Open Educational Resources (https://libguides.tulane.edu/open) (OERs). Contact your subject area librarian (https://library.tulane.edu/people/find-a-subject-specialist) with questions

See our Textbooks Policy