Course Reserves

Course Reserves are a collection of books and other library resources specially selected by instructors that check out for a different loan period than the regular collection. If you are in need of an essential textbook or other supplemental material, ask about the Course Reserves collection at the Bierce Library Service Desk.

• Course Reserves provide a way for students to access textbooks that might otherwise be too expensive for them. 
• Course Reserves may check out for "same day" and are usually due back at library closing. Fines for overdue course reserves are steep and cannot be waived.  Please return your course reserve book promptly so other students may also have access to the book.
• Course Reserves may also include online resources such as research articles, book chapters, streaming videos, ebooks, audiobooks, etc. selected by professors specifically for the course.

Physical Reserves

• Textbooks, books, bound journal volumes, DVDs, models, reference items, or any other physical materials
• Physical items are placed on the shelves behind the Bierce Library service desk.  To access a reserve item, please ask for assistance at the Bierce Library service desk.  Be prepared with your course number, course title, instructor name, and book information in order for staff to find the reserve material.

• To check out items from the course reserve collection, students will need to provide their Zipcard or another form of photo id such as a driver's license, state id, or passport. 

Electronic Reserves

• Articles, databases, book chapter scans, ebooks, streaming audiobooks, streaming videos, web links, files, or any other digital resources

• Electronic reserves are accessed via a secure website, usually Brightspace.

• Only students currently enrolled in the course have access to these electronic course reserve materials.
• All posted electronic course reserves must adhere to U.S. Copyright Laws.

Instructors may request materials, both physical or electronic, for course reserves by contacting the Course Reserves Coordinator, Marie Zufall.  Marie can be reached by:

- email at met@uakron.edu (preferred method)

- telephone at (330) 972-6193

- office drop-in - Bierce Library Room 178A

To expedite your reserves request, please provide your course name, full course number including the section number(s), the semester(s) you would like to use the resource, the approximate number of students expected to enroll in the course, and the citations of the materials you would like to have on course reserve. 

Instructors may also submit a course reserves request online through the forms linked below:

 Request a physical book, DVD, or other hardcopy material

 Request an article, streaming video, or other electronic format to be posted on Brightspace

Summer 2025 Update for Physical Course Reserves:

• Most reserve books are available for "same day" checkout and will be due back by library closing. The books can be taken out of the building as long as they are returned before closing. If they are not returned on time, there will be a fine charged to your library record due to the high demand for the books. We do not waive fines for course reserve materials.
• We can place personal copies and donated copies of books on reserve in addition to most things in the UA collection. We have limited funds for purchasing new materials for reserves, but it doesn't hurt to ask! 

Course Reserves Policies – Fall 2025 update

The University of Akron Libraries reserve the right to approve or deny any requests.

As we re-evaluate the University Libraries’ Course Reserves policies due to budget challenges, here are a few guidelines:

-- Please consider selecting materials from our full-text online resources or from our print materials collection before choosing a resource that we do not already own.  You can search for your subject and browse available options here: https://library.search.uakron.edu/. If you need assistance finding suitable materials to support your course, please contact the library for help. 

-- If you have an extra print copy of a course textbook to loan or donate to the library, we would happily accept it.  Unfortunately, the library cannot scan entire texts to Brightspace; however, we generally can scan selected chapters or shorter page ranges to a course page. 

-- While ebooks can be very useful to course reserves, there are some publisher limitations as to which ones the library can purchase for general access. Traditional textbooks can be especially difficult for the library to purchase as ebooks.  Please consult with the library if you need assistance with selecting ebooks for a course. 

-- One of our current goals as educators and librarians is to make required resources more affordable to students.  There are now many open source options available that may prove useful to your course.  If this sounds like something you would like to consider, you can view some popular open source resource collections here:  https://libguides.uakron.edu/reserves/oar. The library can assist with adding links to open source materials to your course in Brightspace. 

-- Articles and books are not the only materials that can be utilized as a course reserve.  The library can also provide some videos or films to supplement your course.  To see available streaming options, please consult the resources listed here:  https://libguides.uakron.edu/streaming-videos.   Although of perhaps more limited usefulness, the library also has a large DVD collection that can be pulled from to use for possible course reserves. 

-- When choosing resources to support your courses, please remember that fair use standards will be followed.  The library primarily uses the criteria laid out in Section 107 of US copyright law: https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107.  The Course Reserves Coordinator can assist in determining whether your choices fall within the standards.  You can contact the coordinator here: Marie Zufall, met@uakron.edu, 330-972-6193. 

-- Fair use evaluations for all materials utilized for course reserves must be made each and every semester.  Budget concerns and access to resources can sometimes negatively affect fair use determinations from one semester to the next.  Final decisions are at the discretion of the Course Reserves Coordinator. 

* All course reserves policies are subject to change.