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Reference & Research

Course Reserves

Course instructors may wish to place items on reserve for student use at the library. These items can be physical items owned by the library or the instructor or digital items linked through the Grace Library catalog.

To view items currently on reserve, view the Course Reserves page in the Discovery catalog.


Searching for Reserves

Course Reserves are sorted by course name by default, but can be filtered by instructor name, department, or start date. You can also use the search bar to search by course or instructor to see if your instructor has placed anything on reserve in the library.

To view the items reserved for your class, click on the course name to be taken to the course record. From the course record, you will see any course materials or notes related to their access. These can include links to digital items or record listings for physical items held in the library.


Accessing Physical Course Reserves

Physical Course Reserves can be used in the library for two-hour periods during the library's staffed hours. Our staffed hours are Monday–Friday, 8:30am–4:30pm. Overdue items are subject to fines.

Placing Items on Reserve

Faculty can request that books owned by Grace Library be placed on reserve for their students' use during a course. During the semester, students can borrow these materials at the Circulation Desk during the library's staffed hours for two-hours at a time.

When requesting that an item be placed on reserve, please consider the availability and accessibility of that item to your students.


Requesting Reserves

Instructors wishing to place an item from the library on Course Reserve can fill out our Course Reserve Request Form. Links to digital items from the catalog can also be listed for your course.


Placing Personal Copies on Reserve

Personal copies of an item may also be placed on reserve. To place a personal item on Course Reserve, please bring the item to the Circulation Desk along with a completed copy of the printed form (below). Copies of the form are also available in the library. 

Personal copies of materials may only be placed on reserve for one semester at a time. Instructors are responsible for delivery of the item to the library in a timely fashion and for the pickup of the materials at the end of each semester. Materials not picked up by the end of the semester will be sent to the instructor's office or department through inter-campus mail.

By putting personal copies on reserve, you agree to allow the library to place adhesive labels on the item for cataloging and identification purposes.

Grace Library is not responsible for any wear and tear that may occur while the item is in circulation.


Processing Time

Please allow up to five days of processing time for your reserve request to be processed. Once items are placed on reserve, they will show up on the list of Course Reserves available through the Discovery catalog.


Linking to Resources in Brightspace

Faculty can share the Course Reserve link with their students by providing them with the following URL: https://carlowuniversity.on.worldcat.org/courseReserves/landing

Digital content from the library's online catalog can also be linked to directly through an instructor's Brightspace course shell. To view directions on how to link directly to library resources from your course, please view our page on Integrating Library Resources. 


What Cannot be Placed on Reserve

Grace Library will not place on reserve the following items due to copyright or licensing restrictions:

  • Items acquired through Interlibrary Loan
  • Instructor's review copies
  • Workbooks
  • Course packs
  • Photocopies*
  • Digital publications not in the Grace Library catalog

*If you wish to provide access to photocopied portions of copyrighted works or photocopies of your own materials, consider placing these documents in your course module in Brightspace in order to limit access to students who are enrolled in your class.