Course Reserves Policy

The UNCW Library’s Course Reserves service provides access to supplemental physical course materials in support of the University’s academic mission. Course Reserves allow for limited checkout periods to provide items for shared use to all students in a course.

Loan Periods

Faculty determine the loan periods of their items from the following options:

  • 2 hours
  • 4 hours
  • 24 hours
  • 3 days
  • 7 days

Faculty may also determine whether the item’s use should be limited to the library building or not. While the UNCW Library does provide options for viewing media in the library (see below), Course Reserves staff recommend that faculty permit A/V materials to be used outside of the library buildings on a minimum 24-hour loan.

Media Viewing

Three external CD/DVD drives are available for 4-hour, building use only checkout at the Library Help Desk in Randall Hall.  A single media viewing cart is also available, containing a region-free Blu-Ray player and a combination DVD/VHS player.  The cart has a 4-hour checkout period and must remain in the library building.

Location and Use

Course Reserve items are housed behind the Library Help Desk (LHD) in Randall Hall and require a valid UNCW OneCard to check out.  Items are available for checkout during the time the LHD in Randall Hall is open and staffed.  Please see the UNCW Library hours page for the most current LHD schedule.  Items may not be renewed.

Faculty may request to check out their items from the Course Reserves collection for classroom use.  The item's assigned checkout period may be adjusted by LHD staff in this event.

There is no cost to access or use Course Reserve items.

Types of Materials

The Course Reserves service allows faculty to provide supplemental course materials for assignments, readings, and test preparation.  Items from the following library collections may be placed on Course Reserve:

  • General Collection 
  • Oversize Collection
  • Children’s Books
  • Children’s Easy Books
  • Graphic Novels
  • Fiction DVDs
  • Nonfiction DVDs
  • Recreational VHS
  • Documentary VHS
  • CDs

Items borrowed via Interlibrary Loan or checked out from other library systems are ineligible for Course Reserve.

Personal items may be placed on Course Reserve, excepting the following:

  • Fragile items which cannot withstand proper marking or processing for Course Reserves 
  • Material that has been physically or digitally copied beyond the limits of fair use (see the Office of General Counsel’s website for more information on fair use)
  • Items with special conditions or restrictions on handling or use

The UNCW Library is not responsible for any damage to personal items placed on Course Reserve, whether incurred during processing (such as through the application of marking tape) or checkout.

Requesting Materials for Course Reserves

To request that the library place a personal copy or an item in the library collection on Course Reserve, please use the Course Reserves Request form.  Personal items may be dropped off at the Library Help Desk for processing after the online form has been submitted. Course Reserve requests are processed in the order in which they were submitted.  Please allow a typical lead time of 1-4 business days for Course Reserves requests to be processed, which may be extended during peak times at the beginning of each semester.  Items are not processed on weekends or when the University is closed. 

To request that the library purchase an item to be placed on Course Reserve, please use the Suggest a Purchase form.  Items requested for purchase will be processed for Course Reserves after they have been received and cataloged by library staff.  Please note that items intended for Course Reserves that are requested more than one semester in advance will remain in the library’s circulating collections. These items will be pulled and processed for Course Reserves as the requested semester approaches.

Course Reserves Requirements

Due to space limitations, items on Course Reserve must meet the following criteria:

  • Items on Course Reserve must be associated with a course
  • The course must be active during the semester the items are on Course Reserve
  • No more than five copies of any single item will be placed on Course Reserve
  • Items are removed at the end of Fall and Spring semesters unless staff are notified of their continuation (see Removal of Course Reserve Materials, below)

Removal of Course Reserves Materials

At the end of the fall and spring semesters, instructors with active reserve items will be notified via email to confirm which items are needed for the following semester. Unconfirmed items will be removed: library items will be returned to their collections, and personal copies will be mailed to the instructors’ departments using Seahawk Mail.