Course Reserves for Faculty

The iSchool Library sends out an open call for reserves support needs and syllabi submission each semester.

Instructors should submit reserves lists to the iSchool Library for processing at least 2 weeks before classes begin. iSchool staff will:

  • Compile physical materials by pulling items from the iSchool Library collection, requesting items from other UW-Madison Libraries, and/or ordering copies of new items
  • Create high-quality PDFs of articles or chapters not already electronically available through UW-Madison Libraries
  • Compile e-reserves for new courses, including:
    • Add electronic materials to Canvas reserves pages and organize by weekly schedule
    • Import Canvas reserves page into active courses in 5-week increments

Instructors should submit their final syllabi to the iSchool Library by the end of the first week of classes each semester. Final syllabi are submitted to the iSchool office for accreditation purposes and kept on file at iSchool Library.

Required and recommended texts for reserve

For print materials, physical reserves have restricted circulation periods and are intended to be available for students as an alternative to purchasing materials for a course. If you provide us with your list of course materials using the online form, we can arrange to borrow or purchase most titles.

Process: The iSchool Library accepts course reserve requests in the order received. Processing delays may be expected at the beginning of the semester. Please submit requests via the Required and recommended texts form you received from the iSchool Library.

Format: iSchool Library staff will select the format with broadest available access. To request a specific format, please include a note when you submit your request.

Reserves location: Physical reserves for iSchool graduate courses are held in the iSchool Library. Physical reserves for undergraduate and mixed-enrollment courses will be housed in College Library until further notice.

Personal Copies

You may provide us with personal copies of items you’re willing to circulate to students. Personal copies will be marked with iSchool Library collection labels and, although every effort is made to provide security for all materials, the library cannot be responsible for the theft or mutilation of your personal copies.

Electronic reserves

Electronic resources are integral to most course reading lists, and may include articles found in UW-Madison library databases, high quality scans of physically-held materials, media, websites, and more. When selecting your required course materials each semester, electronic resources enable you to keep costs low for your students. The iSchool Library can help you locate digital resources and suggest digital alternatives.

The iSchool Library supports e-reserves in a variety of ways.

E-reserves pages

Beginning spring 2021, the iSchool Library will only create e-reserves pages in Canvas for new courses and/or instructors. Ongoing library support for existing e-reserves pages has resulted in duplicate pages and effort.

Upon request, iSchool Library staff can help instructors test links and make recommendations to improve e-reserves pages for students.

E-reserves pages in Canvas allow instructors to control the content and make it easy for instructors to update e-reserves each semester. Because e-reserves pages are copied directly into courses, the iSchool Library is unable to update pages once they have been moved to the live course.

High-quality scans of physical materials

UW-Madison Libraries staff are trained to produce accessible, legible scans of physical items within fair use.

Scans of book chapters and articles can be requested through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) or the iSchool Library. Scanning requests should only be sent directly to the iSchool Library if (1) the item is held by the iSchool Library or (2) you are requesting a scan from a personal copy.

Streaming media

If you’re interested in requiring video or audio content in your course, you should place a request with UW-Madison Libraries to digitize your media. Once your media is digitized, you can share the secure link with your class via Canvas. This ensures that all students can access the media at their convenience without needing to track down a specialized playback device.

Requests should be made via the online form found on the Streaming Media for Courses page of the UW-Madison Libraries website.

A note about copyright

Copyright is an important consideration for all reserve materials. Scanning and linking to e-reserves and database articles generally counts as educational fair use. Many e-reserve readings are protected under copyright, and should not be shared or distributed beyond the class. If you are unsure about any of your reserve readings, contact us for a discussion or reach out to the Libraries’ Scholarly Communications office.

Syllabi

The library keeps one print copy of a course’s final syllabus in a binder at the desk for students to peruse and sends an electronic copy to the office for accreditation purposes.

Please send a copy of your syllabus to ischoollib@library.wisc.edu even if you have no reserves or plan to upload reserves yourself.

Because syllabi often undergo revision as the start of the semester approaches, it is a good practice to indicate in your email whether the syllabus you are sending is a draft or the final version. The best format for course syllabi is PDF.