Course Reserves

For Students: Find Your Course Materials

If your instructor has added a Library Reading List to your course, you will find access to your materials in your Brightspace course. Not sure? Check with your instructor and/or your course syllabus.

Search for Physical Course Reserves

For Instructors: Library Reading Lists and Copyright

We encourage instructors to use Libraries e-Resources in your online courses. Information on how to navigate our online collections can be found in our Purdue Libraries Online Access and E-Resources Center.

Library Reading Lists

Instructors are encouraged to take advantage of our new Library Reading List tool for electronic course reserves (example below), integrated with Brightspace. Library Reading Lists enable you to easily create, manage, and share course reading lists that engage students and foster meaningful learning, while saving you time and effort. With Library Reading Lists, you can assemble electronic resources (including library resources) of all types - ebooks, online or digitized book chapters, scholarly articles, videos, newspaper articles, websites, and more - to create a structured, comprehensive reading list (subject to copyright). You can build a reading list by yourself or collaborate with others, such as colleagues or library staff. Library Reading Lists are directly integrated with your course site in Brightspace and make it simple for students to access all of the resources you’ve selected.

Documentation is available on our library guides platform if you are new to using and creating reading lists.

Need assistance? Feel free to email us at reserves@purdue.edu and we'll get you started.

Can't find what you need in our collection?

Purchase requests for all materials can be made through the Library Reading List process OR you can email your list to us. If you'd like to use a Library Reading List, please see the documentation link above for more information. Textbooks may be difficult to obtain electronically.

Reach out to a liaison librarian to help locate material that is readily available online: Get Help

Copyright and Fair Use for Course Reserves

All materials on course reserves must be in compliance with the U.S. Copyright Act. For information or assistance in determining copyright status, please visit the University Copyright Office.

Materials are eligible to be placed on reserve if they meet any of the following criteria:

1. Works in the public domain. Such works include, a) Works that were published in the United States prior to 1925 except for musical works or b) Works produced by the U.S. Federal Government.
2. Works where written permission to use has been obtained from the copyright holder.
3. Works that qualify for fair use.

If you are requesting scans of books/journals, etc. in any of your reading lists, you will be asked to make this determination before we can proceed.

Instructor Responsibilities

1. Materials submitted to reserves must support the course curriculum.
2. Instructors will provide materials to the Libraries that have been legally obtained and are in compliance with the U.S. Copyright Act.
3. Only the amount of the work needed to meet the educational purpose should be provided and posted. Entire copies of books and textbooks are not allowed unless permission has been obtained from the copyright holder.
4. Use of the materials will be restricted to those students officially enrolled in the course.
5. Clips of videos will be allowed to be posted but authorization must be obtained from the copyright holder for full length videos.
6. In order for personal items to be placed on library course reserve, items must be original and legally obtained. Items that cannot be used for course reserve include: items labeled as Instructor's Edition, Desk Copy, Examination Edition, Publisher's Review Copy, or variations of those terms; physical items obtained via Interlibrary Loan; photocopies of materials, course packs, and workbooks.

Libraries Responsibilities

1. Libraries will not scan articles or books that have electronic full text access through Purdue Libraries. We will link to those materials in the Library Reading List.
2. Final determination of whether or not the materials are eligible for reserves is the Libraries. The Libraries also reserve the right to remove any materials for legal or administrative reasons.
3. Materials will remain on reserves for no longer than the length of the course.

Student Responsibilities

1. Course reserve materials may not be duplicated or distributed in any format. They are solely for personal use for the designated course and may not be shared beyond that course.