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Course Reserves

Special Notice for Winter Quarter 2022

 See Library COVID-19 Updates and Online Learning Support for updates and information.

The health and safety of our users and staff are the priority. Supporting adherence to public health recommendations on social distancing is imperative at this time.

  • UWB/CC Campus Library's Course Reserves services resumed effective September 20, 2021.  
  • Access to the Reserves Office (LB1-311) will be limited to library staff only until further notice. Please submit your Reserve requests to the Circulation Desk on the first floor.
  • Library Hours

General Information

Reserves staff can provide course support services for remote and onsite learning by:

  • Purchasing required materials for your course (e.g. textbooks, ebooks, DVDs, streaming media) contingent upon the following:
    • availability of licensing option(s) for academic libraries
    • selector approval
    • funding availability
    • favorable licensing terms
  • Scanning required readings (Scanning one chapter of a book is generally considered a fair use.)
  • Creating Stable Links to Journal Articles that can be added to Canvas unless license agreements prohibit the use of links for Course Reserves.

For additional information, visit Faculty Guidance for Choosing Online Materials.

Print Books and Media

Print books and media owned by the UW Libraries or instructor may be placed on Reserve. Short loan periods are assigned to maximize access to course materials. One copy of most required books for UWB courses are automatically processed for Reserve; required books for Cascadia College may be placed on Reserve if owned by the UW Libraries or instructor.

Submission Instructions and Guidelines for Print Books and Media

  • Submit your request at least one week prior to the dates needed. Materials not readily available may take several weeks to arrive.
  • Use one of the following methods to submit your request:
    • Complete the Course Reserves Request Form
    • Submit your personal or library materials to the Circulation Desk on the first floor of the library. Access to the Reserves Office (LB1-311) will be limited to library staff only until further notice.
    • Send your request via email to Campus Library Reserves.
  • Personal materials may be placed on Reserve at the instructor's risk. Personal materials will be returned to the instructor via campus mail at the end of the quarter.
  • Purchase recommendations for materials not owned by the UW Libraries should be submitted at least six weeks prior to the dates needed.
  • Materials borrowed from other institutions, including materials borrowed through Interlibrary Loan or Summit, may not be placed on Reserve.

University Book Store

University Book Store's physical locations have reopened with limited hours, and their online store is fully operational. Your students can order textbooks online and have them shipped.

We highly recommend faculty work with the University Book Store, but there are other places your students can purchase textbooks online. The Online Learning Support: How to Access Library Resources (For Students) provides additional information regarding textbooks and purchase options.

If you are requiring your students to purchase a code to access the textbook publisher's online portal for exercises, quizzes, and other course materials, please note that most used textbooks will not include the one-time use access code. Our bookstore staff will be able to assist you with questions about required access codes, rental options, e-texts, and other ways to reduce textbook costs for your students.

E-books and Streaming Media

The UW Libraries licenses over half a million e-books, thousands of streaming films, and hundreds of article databases that can be used to support your online courses. For assistance identifying or purchasing e-books or streaming films for assigned reading or viewing, visit Faculty Guidance for Choosing Online Materials

  • The library is purchasing streaming video and e-book licenses whenever possible but is unable to fulfill all ebook and streaming requests. This is due to a variety of factors, including the relatively high cost of institutional electronic licenses, electronic platform considerations, licensing terms, and lack of electronic options for academic libraries.
  • The library prioritizes the purchase of streaming video and e-book licenses for fully online and offsite classes.
  • The license negotiation process can be time-consuming. Allow up to two months to license streaming video and e-book licenses.
  • We encourage faculty to consider using films and e-books that the library has already licensed or purchased. Your subject librarian may be able to help identify options.
  • Please see our streaming video purchase guidelines for more information about our streaming purchasing program.

To suggest films and ebooks to purchase for the Bothell Campus Library's general collection (i.e. not for required viewing or reading in your classes) please contact your subject librarian.

Scan for Canvas Service

Submission Instructions

  • Submit your requests at least one week prior to the dates needed. Materials not readily available may take several weeks to arrive.
  • Use one of following methods to submit your request:
    • Complete the Scanning Request Form.
    • Submit your personal or library materials to the Circulation Desk on the first floor of the library. Access to the Reserves Office (LB1-311) is limited to library staff only until further notice.
    • Send your request via email to Campus Library Reserves.

Requests are processed in the order received. Processing time is contingent upon workload and staffing levels.

Copyright Information

Accessibility Information

Campus Library Reserves and the UW Libraries processes electronic readings with optical character recognition (OCR) but does not provide remediation of PDFs for added accessibility as a standard service (e.g. adding tags, alt-text). OCR creates a PDF that is compatible with assistive technology (such as screen reader software), though the quality may not be sufficient for individuals with visual impairment.

Requests for captioning and other services to support students with disabilities should be forwarded to UWB Disability Resources for Students (DRS) or Cascadia Disability Support Services (DSS) for assistance.

Alternatives to Commercial Textbooks

We encourage faculty to consider using an Open Textbook as an alternative to high-cost, commercial textbooks. Open Textbooks are books covered by an open copyright license and available freely to students, instructors, and the community. Most open textbook licenses allow the right to access, download, revise, or customize the content. 

A few Open Textbook options are:

  • Open Course Library - "The Open Course Library (OCL) is a collection of shareable course materials, including syllabi, course activities, readings, and assessments designed by teams of college faculty, instructional designers, librarians, and other experts."
  • OpenStax - OpenStax is a nonprofit based at Rice University, that has published more than 20 open source, peer-reviewed, textbooks in common undergraduate subjects like Algebra, History, and Psychology. They also maintain the OpenStax CNX, a place to view and share free educational material in modules.
  • Open Textbook Library - The Open Textbook Network created this database of peer-reviewed, open-source texts. The University of Washington Libraries is a charter member of the network. The goal is to compile all quality open textbooks and promote faculty reviews of them in one place. Covers most subject areas.
  • BC Campus Open Textbooks - British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education’s Open Textbook Project makes open textbooks available in BC's 40 highest-enrolled academic subject areas. As of Feb. 2015, there are currently 67 reviewed textbooks.

For more open textbooks options, or information about OERs and library-licensed educational resources (LERs), see Campus Library Open Educational Resources.

For other online alternatives to physical textbooks, see Faculty Guidance for Choosing Online Materials. 

Contact Information

Email: reserves@uw.edu

Phone: 425-352-3650

Business Hours: Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm

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