Faculty Services and Resources

Welcome to the faculty print reserves page for the Roosevelt University Library

We invite you to place your print reserves materials for your students at any of our campus libraries. Reserves are meant to ensure that students in a course are assured timely access to required or supplementary course readings. While on reserve, materials can only be checked out by students in the course for a limited amount of time. Students may check out reserves materials for an additional loan period if there are no other requests for the items. Print materials are held at the circulation desk in the Library of your choosing. 

Print Reserves & Fair Use

Due to copyright laws and fair use guidelines, not all print materials can be placed on reserves.

Items that may be placed on reserve:

• Books owned by the library or the instructor’s personal copy
• No more than one chapter or 10% of a book
• DVDs, VHS tapes, CDs, or other media owned by the library or the instructor’s personal copy
• No more than one photocopied journal article from a single issue
• No more than one chart, diagram or picture from a single source
• Materials authored by the instructor
• Student papers, with express written permission from the student
• Works in the public domain or under creative commons licensing 

Items that may not be placed on reserve:

• Workbooks, course packs or other consumable materials
• Student papers without written permission from the student
• More than one chapter from a book
• More than one article from a journal issue

 Fair Use for Print Reserves

Before you submit a reserve request, you must determine if you may fairly use the materials. As outlined above, works in the public domain, under creative commons licensing, already licensed by the Library, or where the instructor owns the copyright are allowed. Otherwise, use of the materials must follow fair use guidelines. 

Generally, fair use considerations involve four factors:

1. The Purpose and Character of the Use
   • Nonprofit and educational uses are more likely to be considered fair use, especially if the work serves a clearly articulated pedagogical purpose.
   • Transformative uses, like parody and news reporting, are important factors that weigh in favor of a finding that the use is fair.
   • Commercial uses of the copyrighted work or uses that substitute for the copyrighted work weigh against a finding of fair use.
2. The Nature of the Copyrighted Work
   • The fair use privilege is more extensive for works of information, such as scientific, biographical, or historical works than for artistic and creative works.
3. The Amount and Substantiality of the Work Used
   • Fair use is more likely to be found when the user of the copyrighted material takes only the amount necessary for the purpose of the use.
   • Using an entire work will often, but not always, weigh against a finding of fair use.
4. The Effect of Use on the Potential Market for the Copyrighted Work
   • If there is a potential for harm to the market for the work, this harm will weigh against a finding of fair use.
   • If there is no readily available market for the work, this weighs in favor of fair use.