About

Course Reserves is a service available to FIU faculty that will house materials required for use in class. Course Reserves provides a location for these materials assigned to students enrolled in classes on a semester-by-semester basis.

Materials may be in print, electronic, and multimedia formats in compliance with the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Whenever possible and allowed by the U.S. Copyright Law, materials will be scanned as electronic documents and made available to students 24/7.
Course Reserves, Copyright, and You
Course Reserves services are provided for students at the Circulation Desks in the Green Library (MMC), the Hubert Library (BBC), the Engineering Library Services in the Engineering Center, and the Sound & Image Desk, Green Library 5th Floor.

Placing Materials on Reserve

Complete the form online or in-person. Personal items that you wish to be placed on Course Reserves must be brought to the designated location for processing. Please contact us if you have questions at 305-348-3775 (Green Library, Print & Electronic Reserves), 305-919-5736 (Hubert Library), or 305-348-2418 (Green Library, Sound & Image).
Course Reserves Request

Overdue fines and charges for damaged or lost materials are possible. Please advise your students to observe the due dates and due times to avoid incurring fines and charges.

Materials Eligible for Course Reserves

• Print Reserves -- Available for books and other materials that are checked out to students. Faculty members select either a 2 hour, 24 hour, or 3 day circulation period. Personal and library-owned materials may be placed on Print Reserves. Materials from non-circulating collections may not be placed on Print Reserves.
• Electronic Reserves -- Photocopies of articles in periodicals and chapters in books are scanned and made available 24/7. Some restrictions may apply in order to comply with the Copyright Law.
• Multimedia -- Materials such as music CD's, DVD's, videotapes, or other audio-visual formats. Multimedia reserves at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus - Green Library are located in the Sound & Images Department, 5th Floor, and at the BBC- Hubert Library Circulation Desk. Loan periods vary. Some restrictions may apply in order to comply with the Copyright Law.
• Links to Online Course Syllabus -- Links to the course's online syllabus are provided through the Course Reserves database.
• Using FIU Blackboard/CE6 with Course Reserves -- Some links between Blackboard/CE6 and Course Reserves may be possible. Please consult Blackboard for assistance.
• Other Services in compliance with the Copyright Law may be restricted.

Materials Ineligible for Course Reserves

• Materials owned by another library -- materials obtained via Interlibrary Loan, such as books, DVD's etc., may not be placed on Course Reserve in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Law and the National Interlibrary Loan Code
• Special Collections materials
• Reference materials
• Bound volumes of library-owned periodicals
• Materials, reproductions or formats which are not in compliance with the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 of the U.S. Code)

Library-owned Materials

Depending upon the time of the semester, please allow approximately two weeks processing for Library-owned materials. To expedite processing time, instructors may retrieve the materials from the stacks. If an item is checked out, it will be recalled immediately. The same material(s) may be shared by multiple instructors. The loan period will be limited to 2 hours in order to provide equitable access.

Books not owned by the Library

Materials not owned by the FIU Libraries will be ordered based upon the availability of funds. Please allow sufficient time for purchasing and processing new books. Some material types, such as textbooks, will not be purchased. Please contact us if you have questions.

Personal Items

Personal materials will be processed and circulated according to standard reserve procedures, including labeling to facilitate check out, and sensitization to deter theft. If the library owns the item, the library's copy will be placed on reserve and the instructor's copy returned unless specifically requested otherwise. While efforts will be made to safeguard materials, the library is not responsible for any damage to or theft of personal items placed on Course Reserve.

Processing Time

To ensure that materials will be available when needed, requests should be submitted approximately 30 days prior to the beginning of the semester. Most materials can be processed and made available within three (3) business days, depending upon the time of the semester. Additional processing time may be necessary for reasons including: requests on or after the first day of class, incomplete citations, materials that are currently unavailable, requests unaccompanied by the materials, requests requiring copyright permission, and materials that are not owned by the library. Please be assured that we will make every effort to process your requests as quickly as possible.

Copyright Compliance

Materials placed on Reserve are subject to compliance with the Copyright Law of the United States (Title17, US Code). Copyright Law & Library Compliance provides further information concerning copyright compliance and Course Reserves. Materials needed for the next semester must be resubmitted for copyright compliance. Permission or refusal may be granted at any time by the copyright's owner.
Copyright Policy

Removing Materials

Materials are removed at the end of each semester, or earlier if the instructor requests. Instructors may also request removal of items from Course Reserves at anytime during the semester. To comply with the Copyright Law, at the end of each semester all materials must be removed or renewed for the following semester.