CSULB Library - Reserve

Information for Faculty about Reserve Services

Reserve Services: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Information about print materials and links to the actual electronic materials you have placed on Reserve will be available through our eReserves web page.

1. Why place items on reserve?

2. What kinds of materials can be placed on reserve?
3. What do I do if I only want to place print (books, etc.) or media (cds, videos, cassettes) materials on reserve?

4. How do I designate items to be placed on reserve?

5. How long does it take to process a request?
6. I just added a document, but it is not listed on my Course yet. What's the delay?

7. How do I tell the library that an item I need for Reserve is not available? Do I need to make a special order?

8. How do students access Reserve and eReserve materials?
9. How can I make sure my documents are easily downloaded by students with slower modems?
10. Do I need to do anything special so my documents can be opened by my students?

11. Why do I need multiple passwords?

12. Is there a limit on how many reserve items I can assign for a course?

13. What do I need to know about copyright?

14. How can I find out if my assigned materials were used and renew them for a subsequent semester?

15. What exactly do I need to do to get my materials on reserve?

16. What if I need help?

Why place items on reserve?

To insure that intensively used, required (not merely recommended) reading assignments for a class are available to all students in the class.
To enable students in the class to access most assigned readings on a 24/7 basis, from any web-enabled computer.
To be sure that materials assigned are in compliance with copyright regulations.

What kinds of materials can be placed on reserve?

Books from the library collection
Books owned by the faculty member
Journal articles *
Book chapters *
Course syllabi, sample tests, other scannable print documents *
PowerPoint™ presentations, Excel™ files, Word™ files *
* items will be available 24/7 via your course on the E-Reserves web page (http://ereserves.library.csulb.edu/)

What do I do if I only want to place print (books, etc.) or media (cds, videos, cassettes) materials on reserve?

eReserves provides a way for you to inform your students about what materials (print, media, and/or electronic) are available to them from the Library. In order for your students to access any information about any materials you have on reserve, you must create a course page for each class. Even if you only have print materials on reserve, your course page will allow students to see what is available to them 24/7.

How do I designate items to be placed on reserve?

Complete and submit the online reserve eReserves Course Request form. (See the detailed Steps below.)
NOTE: an eReserves Course Request form will need to be completed for each of your courses for which you wish to place materials on reserve.
Then use the Request Course Material form to submit items / citations for each course.

How long does it take to process a request?

Remember! the beginning of the semester is very busy and delays may occur. Requesting your course and materials four weeks in advance will help avoid delays.

Items available at CSULB Library normally can be processed within 24 - 48 hours.

If items are not available at the CSULB Library (including new books), please allow 7-10 working days for the library to obtain materials.

I just added a document, but it is not listed on my Course yet. What's the delay?

All documents added to your Course Page must be reviewed by the Library's Reserve staff to ascertain that the document meets copyright clearance. Your document should be available in approximately 48 hours after you add it. If you need the document available more quickly than 48 hours, please telephone Reserve Services (562--985-5193) during the hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to request a "rush approval."

How do I tell the library that an item I need for Reserve is not available? Do I need to make a special order?

No, there is no need to make a special order. Just go ahead and create your Course Page and Request Materials for your course.
If you request an article that is not available in our print, microform, or electronic collections, the library staff will acquire a copy of the article on your behalf.
If you request a book that is not available in our collections, the library staff will RUSH order it for your course. After your course concludes and you no longer need the book for Reserve, the book will be placed in the library's collection.

How do students access Reserve and eReserve materials?

Very Important: To view your course reserve list and access materials all students MUST have a unique password they obtain from you.
You create this password when your reserve list is established.
The Library does not have access to your password and cannot provide the password to your students.
The E-Reserves web page (http://ereserves.library.csulb.edu/) enables students to link to the official reserve lists for their course.
Digitized articles and other documents are posted online.
Items that are in book or paper format only are located on the 2nd floor of the Library.
You may want to review the information we provide for students using Reserve.

How can I make sure my documents are easily downloaded by students with slower modems?

Students accessing your materials from computers off campus may have slower modems so before you upload a document, check its file size. Electronic items over 1,000 kb (1MB) can be tricky for students to access from slower modems and these files should be broken down into pieces before uploading. Also, if you upload documents created in applications that your students do not have access to, they may be unable to open your documents.

Do I need to do anything special so my documents can be opened by my students?

It is recommended that instructors use standard applications when posting originally created documents. Most computers running Windows or Mac OS come standard with programs that can open:
- Text files
- Image files
- Sound files
Instructors can direct students to the main eReserves site Student Information for information on browser and software configuration required for using Reserve materials.
Reserve Services posts all scanned documents in Adobe PDF format. All students using eReserves must have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in order to view eReserves documents.
Microsoft has a number of free viewers for their most popular applications: Word, Excel and Powerpoint. This way, students that do not have these applications installed on their local computer can still view your originally created documents. You can read information on free Microsoft viewers http://ereserves.library.csulb.edu/viewer.html as well as download the free viewers.
All students are entitled under the CSU's Microsoft Enterprise License Agreement to install many of the most popular Microsoft productivity applications. Students can obtain the software at the Computer Store in the University Bookstore.

Why do I need multiple passwords?

When you complete your Course Request, you will be asked to create both an Instructor password and a Student password.
Your "Instructor password" allows you to login to any of your eReserves courses in order to:
- Post course announcements
- Add materials that you create on your computer and upload them directly to your Course Page
- Organize materials on your Course Page
Your "Student password", which you must provide to the students enrolled in your course, is something you create when you complete your Course Request.
You must use the same "Instructor password" for all of your courses. You can use the same "Instructor password" semester after semester.
We recommend that you create unique "Student passwords" for each of your courses. You must change the "Student password" every semester.

Is there a limit on how many reserve items I can assign for a course?

Yes, 25 items is the limit per instructor per course.

What do I need to know about copyright?

Copyright permission is required for any copyrighted material NOT owned by the library and used for the same instructor for more than one semester.
The University Library and the University Bookstore work together to obtain required copyright permission for faculty, and the library pays copyright fees (up to a limit).

How can I find out if my assigned materials were used and renew them for a subsequent semester?

At the end of each semester Reserve Services will contact you via email to provide usage statistics on your e-reserves materials and to inquire about your desire, taking usage history into account, to put some or all of the same materials on reserve in the following semester.

STEPS for placing materials on Reserve

Step 1: Complete the eReserves Course Request and create a Course Page for each course.

Step 2: Specify course material for each course.

Step 3: Within approximately 48 hours you will receive an email from Reserve Services notifying you that your Account has been activated.

Step 4: You can now upload any electronic documents (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, etc.) to your course account. Please review our instructions for Course Page Management.

Step 5: Provide your students with the link to the eReserves page (http://ereserves.library.csulb.edu) and the password to your reserve materials so that they can begin using your materials.

If, after reviewing the above information regarding Reserves, you have questions or concerns,
please contact us!

This page maintained by Reserve Services
lib-ereserves@csulb.edu
University Library
California State University, Long Beach
Please send questions, comments, and suggestions to Reserve Services at the address above.

Last Updated 3/5/08