Faculty and Staff Resources

Physical Reserves

The library offers faculty the opportunity to place physical items (books, DVDs, photocopies, etc.) on reserve at the circulation desk.  The library will place on reserve, at the initiative of faculty, items for the non-commercial, educational use of students.  The library follows U.S. Copyright Law and associated guidelines.  All reserve materials are removed at the end of every term.  Library material is returned to the circulating collection and personally owned items are returned to the owner.

What May be Placed On Reserve

• Library Books and Media - Library staff or student assistants can help retrieve library materials for you to place them on reserve. Contact Terri Foy at foytm@hiram.edu for assistance.  Please include author, title and call number to facilitate timely processing. Some requested material may be checked out and could take up to two weeks to be returned after recalling for your reserve request.  Please allow enough time in the event this happens.
• Personally Owned Materials - We will affix a barcode and reserve labels to personal copies provided to us for reserve. Personal materials are returned to you through campus mail within two weeks after the course had ended, unless otherwise indicated. The library is not responsible for the loss of, or damage to, personal copies.
• eBooks - please contact a librarian (library@hiram.edu) to request that the library purchase an eBook that you can link to in your Moodle course and syllabus. We will make every effort to acquire an unlimited access eBook that allows multiple students to use the book at once. Unfortunately, most textbook publishers will not sell eBooks to libraries, so we are typically unable to purchase course textbooks, but you are always welcome to ask us to check!

What May Not Be Placed on Reserve

• Items that in the determination of the library staff are contrary to U.S. Copyright Laws or associated guidelines
• Books borrowed through OhioLINK or SearchOhio
• Books borrowed through interlibrary loan
• Entire issues or volumes of library periodicals

Selecting Loan Periods - The library offers the following options when placing items on reserve:

• 2 Hours (also called Closed Reserve) - Items are not allowed to leave the building and must be returned within two hours unless renewed.
• 1 Day - Items may leave the building and may be kept overnight
• 3 Day - Allows for more time for longer readings; can be useful for video and audio
• 7 Day - Allows even more time and can be useful for video and audio

How To Place Materials on Reserve

Faculty are asked to fill out a Reserve Request Form when delivering materials to the Ask Here Desk for processing to be placed on reserve.  Forms are available at the library's Ask Here Desk.

The first week of each term is a busy time.  At the start of terms, please allow one week for the processing of reserve materials.  At other times in the term, please allow a minimum of 1 business day. 

Searching for Course Reserves

Your students can search for a reserve using the library catalog: https://cat.opal-libraries.org/search/r

The library does not run an electronic reserve system, but rather counts on faculty placing items directly on Moodle,  Please remember that you are responsible for following U.S. Copyright Law.  For items the library makes available digitally, we recommend that you simply link to that material rather than downloading copies to Moodle.  You may wish to consult these two sections below: 

• E-Resources and Streaming Video
• Off-Campus Access

eBooks and electronic journal articles: Please contact a librarian (library@hiram.edu) if you need assistance locating an electronic copy of a book or article through:

• Hiram College Library Databases
• Hiram College Library Journals
• Hiram College Library Catalog
• OhioLINK eBook Center
• OhioLINK Journal Center

We will make every effort to acquire an unlimited access eBook that allows multiple students to use the book at once. Unfortunately, most textbook publishers will not sell eBooks to libraries, so we are typically unable to purchase course textbooks, but you are always welcome to ask us to check!