Course Reserves

For faculty

When possible, submit assigned course materials requests at least three weeks in advance. Reserve requests are processed in the order received.

The Course Reserve Flowchart is a guide to help you determine what can legally be placed on course reserve for in-person, hybrid, and online courses, with links to web pages that have more detailed information.

Before submitting a request, please consult the Library catalog to see if the item you are assigning is already accessible electronically via a direct link to a database. If it is, you may simply link to it in your course’s HuskyCT site. (See Stable Linking to Electronic Resources.)

To submit Course Reserve requests please email lib.acquisitions@uconn.edu with the following information:

Title of book/video or other identifying information
Course number and course name
Department
Campus
Date Needed
Semester(s) assigned

To increase access to Course Reserves, the library has an e-preferred model (e.g., videos will be obtained as streams when available, books as e-books with simultaneous user permissions when available).

If we cannot obtain electronic access to the item, we will follow up with the instructor to put a physical version (either a Library-owned copy or the instructor’s personal copy) on Course Reserve.

Articles from journals or chapters from books not owned by either the Library or the instructor will require purchase through the Copyright Clearance Center. Please submit a Course Reserve request as described above for these items.

In accordance with our Collection Development Policies, the library generally does not acquire traditional textbooks. However, instructors can submit personal copies to be kept at their campus’s circulation desk as a Course Reserve item. Please contact your campus’s Reserve Services Staff to inquire about personal copies and relevant policy.

For any additional questions, please contact your campus’s Reserve Services Staff.

For Students

To check out an item that is on reserve for your course, you will need to come to the iDesk (at Homer Babbidge Library), or to the circulation desk at your regional campus library, the Music and Dramatic Arts Library, or the Pharmacy Library. You will need to know the title of the item, which should be in your course syllabus or on an assignment sheet from the class. Your UConn ID (Husky One Card) is required to check out course reserve items.

Most course reserve items check out for three hours, for in-library use only. Videos check out for four hours. A few course reserve items check out for longer periods—one day, three days, or seven days—and can be taken out of the library.