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Reserves
W.E.B. Du Bois Library, Lower Level
Reserves readings, laptops and camcorders have moved to the Lower Level of Du Bois!
The newly expanded Circulation/Reserves service desk opened in mid-July on the Lower Level of the Du Bois Library. Check out books, course reserve materials, laptops, multimedia equipment, public locker keys and more at this convenient combined service point. The media collection, media viewing, music monuments, microforms retrieval, viewing and scanning remain at their present third floor location in Du Bois.(413) 545-2358
mreserve@library.umass.edu
* Find Course Reserves (print, media, music)
* Find Electronic Reserves
Students: Hours | Borrowing | Loan Policy | Renewals | Late Fees and Bills | Photocopiers | Electronic Reserves
Faculty: Putting Material on Reserve | Deadlines | Library Books and Personal Copies | Electronic Reserves
Instructors place books, articles, videos, DVDs, lectures on audiocassette and CD-ROM, and sample exams on reserve each semester for use by students in their courses. Since these items are often in demand by a large number of students, loan periods are short and overdue fines are high.
Information for Students
Hours
See listings for Reserves/Media on the Library's schedule of hours. Staff office hours are Monday - Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Borrowing
You must have a valid UMass Amherst ID card (UCard), a Four College ID card, or a State Borrowers Card in order to use reserve materials.
To save time, it is recommended that you search the Library Catalog by instructor, course or title of the work to identify reserve materials before approaching the service desk. New quick lookup computers are available adjacent to the new Circulation/Reserve Service Desk on the Lower Level where you can find the call numbers of the items you need.
Loan Policy
Instructors choose the loan periods for items on reserve for courses: 2 hours or 3 day. Loan periods and rules are noted on each item and in the Library Catalog listing for each course. Equipment is provided in the Library to view or listen to audiovisual materials that are on reserve for a course.
Reserve material is available on a first come, first serve basis, and may not be reserved in advance. Books with a 2 hour no overnight period are restricted to use in the library. Books with a 2 hour overnight loan period may only leave the library on Friday and Saturday nights after 7 p.m. when they may be taken out for the overnight loan period. If extenuating circumstances require an exception to the loan policy, ask your course instructor to make arrangements in advance with the Reserves Office in writing or by email to mreserve@library.umass.edu.
Renewals
Return reserve material by the end of the loan period in person. It cannot be renewed by phone or email. If no one has asked for the material, you may borrow it again.
Late Fees and Bills
Reserve late fees are $10.00 per hour or the fraction of the hour for 2 hour loans, up to a $150.00 maximum; and $50.00 per day for 3 day loans, also up to a $150.00 maximum. The replacement charge for unreturned or lost material is $200.00 per item. If you have been issued a replacement bill but then return the material, the charge will be reduced to $150.00. Appeals for late fees are conducted via a special email account, appealsrmm@library.umass.edu where a committee will review your appeal and send you their decision. Appeals are granted only for extraordinary circumstances. Please note that if you give the item to a third party to return, and that individual does not return it on time, or at all, you are still held responsible for any late fees or replacement charges that are incurred.
Photocopiers
Floor 3 houses multiple photocopiers that accept UCards or Guest Cards that may be purchased on the Lower Level. For more information, please see Photocopying and Printing in the Libraries. There are no coin-operated photocopiers in the Library.
Electronic Reserves
If your course offers electronic reserves, please ask your instructor for a password and access directions. Passwords are not available through the library.
Information for Faculty
Who may put material on reserve?
Instructors of graduate or undergraduate courses at UMass Amherst.
Submitting Reserve Requests
Please see our Faculty Request Forms to submit reserve requests online, or to print out copies of forms. Paper copies of the forms are also available at the Circulation/Reserves Service Desk.
What type of material may you place on reserve? Please be aware that as of Spring semester 2009, due to student demand, and lack of shelf space the Circulation/Reserves will no longer put shorter readings on print reserve in the form of folders. Instead, these readings will be available only on electronic reserve. The library will continue to accept coursepacks (for the semester currently in session only) and loose-leaf binders containing class notes, homework assignments and solutions, lecture notes or past semester sample exams and quizzes. Journal articles and book chapters that are subject to copyright or permissions needed to be used for classroom use must go on electronic reserve and are subject to the length limitations outlined by present copyright law and outlined in our copyright policy.
* Library-owned books
* Personal copies of books
* Photocopies (i.e. articles, sample term papers, manuscripts, book excerpts)
* Past semester/sample exams and quizzes
* Homework assignments and solutions
* Lecture notes and course syllabi
* Audiocassette and CD-ROM recordings of lectures
* Videos and DVDs - To place UMass or 4 College videos and DVDs on reserve, submit a Film & Video Request Form or email avreserves@library.umass.edu.
Please see our Copyright Policy and FAQ for detailed information about which materials may be placed on reserve.
What are our suggested guidelines for submitting Reserve Forms to ensure your readings are available for the first day of class?
Fall semester: May 31st
Spring semester: December 4th
Winter and Summer sessions: 4 weeks prior to the first day of class.
Faculty may submit reserve lists at any time throughout the term. All lists will be processed in order of receipt and as quickly as possible. Reserves typically experiences a backlog at the beginning of each term, but once this is cleared, material is usually processed within 24 hours of submission.
How can I get books not found in the Library collection?
The Library will order copies of books to be placed on reserve. The Library does not order copies of textbooks, but faculty members are encouraged to place personal copies of textbooks on reserve.
Book orders should be noted on the request form. Please include all pertinent bibliographic data (author, title, place, publisher, date, ISBN). New book orders typically take 4 to 6 weeks to fulfill.
Electronic Reserves
Please see our Electronic Reserves web page for information on ereserves. Choose "Ereserves Processing Forms" to display a list of online MSWord, and PDF forms to submit with copies of book chapters and journal articles.
To contact Electronic Reserves staff, please call (413) 545-6875, or email ereserves@library.umass.edu.
Last Edited: 23 July 2010
