Skip to main content

Electronic Course Reserves

A guide for faculty and students in requesting, accessing electronic course reserves

Electronic Course Reserves (e-Reserves)

E-Reserves deliver access to digital or scanned digitized course readings and other materials via the Blackboard course shell. The Milne Library policy for reserve collections adheres to fair use guidelines of the United States Copyright Act of 1976.

Photocopied or scanned course readings are limited to one chapter from a book (not to exceed 10% of the text); one article from any one issue of a journal; one short story, short essay, short poem, or case study from an anthology; one chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture from a book, journal or newspaper. Items must fall within the scope of the “fair use” copyright guidelines or be accompanied by appropriate copyright permission forms.

For Students: Find e-Reserves

Go to the e-Reserves page to discover your electronic course reserves. Some instructors make e-Reserves available on Blackboard.

For Instructors: Request e-Reserves

Faculty can request e-Reserve items using the e-Reserves Request Form.  

Specific Guidelines

Copyright Guidelines for Course Reserves are considered in compliance with U.S. Code: Title 17, Section 107 governing Fair Use (see Sec. 107 - Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use below). Specifically, any reproduction — either photocopied or electronic — of copyrighted material that is placed on reserve will conform to the following:

  • Materials placed on reserve will be made available for students and faculty only while the requesting instructor is actually teaching the course, and will be removed after the course is no longer in session.
  • Book selections placed on electronic reserve from works under copyright will not exceed 10% of the total pages in the source.
  • Journal articles placed on electronic reserve from works under copyright will not exceed one article from any issue of the publication.
  • The above limitations are cumulative over the course of the semester.
  • E-reserves that are reactivated in subsequent semesters for the same course/instructor may require copyright permission. Copyright permission will be sought by Course Reserves staff though the Copyright Clearance Center. Materials for which copyright permission is unavailable may be removed from reserve.

Sec. 107 - Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -

  1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
  2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
  3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
  4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

Note: The electronic provision of copyright-protected works for library reserve service and distance learning are unsettled areas of the law which may be addressed by judicial decisions and/or legislation. The Milne Library will continually monitor legal developments that may affect the Fair Use analysis of e-reserves to ensure that library services are in compliance with the letter and spirit of the U.S. copyright law.