Reserves Frequently Asked Questions
What information does the Reserve Department need from me?
What kind of material can be placed on reserve?
For how long can one borrow reserve material ?
Where are reserve materials kept and how does one obtain access to them?
What if the library does not own an item I need for reserve?
How do I submit my list?
When should I submit my list?
What if I miss the reserve request submission deadline?
What are Electronic Course Reserves?
In what form should I submit photocopied text for e-reserve scanning?
How does one access e-reserves?
Who can I contact about Blackboard?
What should I know about Princeton University Library’s Copyright Policy?
Who can I contact if I have questions or need help?
Where do I address questions about passwords?
What information does the Reserve Department need from me?
We ask that faculty and departmental staff submit all reserve requests for books, electronic course reserves, and video recordings using the Online Reserve Request Service (ORRS), which associates course material with specific classes and instructors across semesters. After its initial submission, a list of related materials can easily be updated and approved online. Instructions are available at:
You will be asked to confirm your name and the course name and number, and to provide an expected enrollment figure. A departmental user ID and password will be required (your personal Princeton NetID & LDAP Password will not be recognized). Please write to the Reserve Department at reserve@princeton.edu or call 609-258-7080 for the appropriate combination.
What kind of material can be placed on reserve?The following types of study material can be placed on reserve:
- Princeton University Library books
- instructor’s copies of books
- coursepacks
- scanned book chapters
- scanned journal articles
- e-books
- online articles
- online audio clips
- sound- and video-recordings (which can often be digitized)
All reserve requests should be addressed to the Reserves Department. Sound recordings are processed by the Mendel Music Library, whereas video reserves -- VHS/DVD for borrowing, as well as digitized content available as “video on demand” (VOD) via Blackboard -- are handled by the Language Resource Center. All other reserve items will be processed at your departmental library.
For how long can one borrow reserve material?
Firestone reserves for undergraduate courses are assigned either a 3-hour or 24-hour loan period according to whether material is designated “required” or “optional”. Reserve items for graduate courses circulate as overnight loans only after 9 PM. Please see branch library web pages for local hours of operation and for loan policies.
Where are reserve materials kept and how does one obtain access to them?
Firestone Reserve materials for undergraduate courses are kept behind the Reserve Desk at A-7-F Firestone. Reserve materials for graduate courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences are kept in departmental graduate study rooms. Students must present a valid Tiger Card in order to borrow Reserve Material.
What if the library does not own an item I need for reserve?
The Reserve Department will purchase any material to be used for course reserves. No special notice is required if sufficient bibliographic information on a new title has been entered into the ORRS list.
How do I submit my list?
Faculty and departmental staff should make all reserve requests for books, electronic course reserves, and video recordings using the Online Reserve Request Service (ORRS). Detailed instructions are available at:
http://library.princeton.edu/services/ORRS_Instructions.doc
Please send email to reserve@princeton.edu or call 8-3224 to request the ORRS user ID and password assigned to your department. Please feel free to contact the Reserves staff with any related questions or problems.
ORRS lists can be submitted at any time, but we will post reminders to faculty and departmental officers via email well in advance of submission deadlines.
What if I miss the reserve request submission deadline?
Once the submission deadline has passed, reserve lists will be processed in the order in which they are received. If the new semester is imminent or classes are already in session, please contact the Reserve Department so that we can prioritize the first few weeks’ assignments in our processing schedule.
It is in all cases helpful to use the ORRS option to indicate for which week of the semester a given item has been assigned. This will help ensure readings are available when needed. It is important to observe the ORRS submission deadlines especially where new acquisitions are necessary, as these sometimes require considerable time for shipping and processing.
What are Electronic Course Reserves?
The Reserves Department provides students with online access to course readings through the Blackboard course management system and alternately via the library’s Electronic Course Reserve Service webpage. The library also provides links from the Course Reserves listings in the Main Catalog to all available e-reserves (i.e. Electronic Course Reserves, or ECR) for each course.
We will scan individual book chapters and journal articles and set up links to electronic resources to which the library has access rights, including e-books, online articles, online audio clips, and audiovisual recordings -- all of which can be digitized for access via the Blackboard course management system.
In what form should I submit photocopied text for e-reserve scanning?
The library is required to own a copy of any source from which material will be scanned, and to ascertain that the quantity of material from any source does not exceed current “fair use” guidelines under copyright law. Therefore, our primary requirement in preparing course reserves is a complete ORRS list containing reliable bibliographic information, preferably made with reference to the Main Catalog.
How does one access e-reserves?
Material can be accessed through Blackboard or through the library Electronic Course Reserves webpage. The library web page requires a course-specific UserID/Password combination which students or auditors must obtain from their instructor; whereas Blackboard permits access by means of a user’s personal Princeton NetID/LDAP Password combination to any course in which he is officially enrolled.
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Who can I contact about Blackboard?
Blackboard is maintained by the Office of Information Technology (OIT). The Blackboard staff can be contacted by sending email to blackboard@princeton.edu or by calling 609-258-0776.
What should I know about Princeton University Library’s Copyright Policy?
E-reserves are password-protected and are to be used only by students enrolled in courses for which these materials have been assigned. These materials must not be copied or distributed for any purpose not permitted under copyright law.
For information regarding the scope and nature of copyright protection and the limits of the “fair use” exemption, please consult Copyright Basics, a website prepared by the Office of General Counsel. Failure to use E-reserves as outlined therein may violate the University’s copyright policy and result in the loss of one’s access privileges.
Who can I contact if I have questions or need help?
You can email Reserves Department Head, Alexander Brown (ab@princeton.edu) or Circulation Services Director, Trevor A. Dawes at tdawes@princeton.edu. You can also contact the Reserve Department staff (reserve@princeton.edu) at 609-258-3224.
Where do I address questions about passwords?
- ORRS passwords are department-specific and should be obtained from the Reserves staff.
- ECR passwords are course-specific and should be obtained from course instructors.
- Blackboard passwords are user-specific and identical with one’s email WebID/LDAP combination. Contact OIT with questions about these passwords.
