Course Reserves Policies & Guidelines
All reserve materials are placed behind the Library’s Circulation Desk and are available for a 2-hour loan period (or overnight if checked out less than 2 hours before closing). All reserve materials should be returned directly to the Circulation Desk. The fine for late reserve items is $1 per hour. A student must be taking credit-bearing courses and have a valid NYSID ID to borrow any reserve items.
Instructors may place selected materials on Reserves for their classes. However, the following policies and procedures will apply:
OAA Course Textbook List
NYSID is required by law to publish a comprehensive textbook list for all courses offered by the College and make it available to the public and any potential students. The list is maintained by the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) and can be accessed via the NYSID Library Homepage (under the “Books” search tab) or via the NYSID Portal (under the “Resources” tab).
Please consult the OAA Course Textbook List before submitting your reserve/textbook requests to OAA and/or the Library.
Three Categories of Books and Materials on Reserves:
1. Required Textbooks:
- Required Textbooks are highlighted in blue on the OAA Course Textbook List.
- Any changes and additions to the Required Textbook(s) for a course will need to be submitted to and approved by OAA. This policy applies to adopting a later edition of an existing textbook.
- Students taking the course are expected to purchase the Required Textbook(s) listed under the course.
- Required Textbooks are automatically placed on the Reserves shelves by Library staff when the course is offered; additional print or electronic copies may be acquired depending on the Library budget and book availability.
2. Suggested Textbooks:
- Suggested Textbooks are highlighted in brown on the OAA Course Textbook List.
- Like the procedure for Required Textbooks, any changes and additions to the Suggested Textbook(s) for a course must be submitted to and approved by OAA. This applies to adopting a later edition of an existing textbook.
- Students are not expected to purchase any Suggested Textbooks on the list.
- Like the procedure for Required Textbooks, Suggested Textbooks are automatically placed on the Reserves shelves by Library staff when the course is offered; additional print or electronic copies may be acquired depending on the Library budget and book availability.
3. Supplementary Readings:
- Supplementary Readings are NOT listed on the OAA Course Textbook List as they are not regarded as textbooks. They are meant to be reading materials that supplement the Required/Suggested Textbook(s) for a course.
- Instructors may have more flexibility to list any books and journal articles as Supplementary Readings for their classes without the approval from OAA.
- Requests for placing Supplementary Readings on Reserves should be submitted to the Library.
- The Library cannot guarantee purchase of any supplementary materials if they are not already in the Library collection. (Special arrangements may be made to place the instructors’ personal copies/materials on Reserves, however the Library is not responsible for loss and damages of any loaned materials.)
- All Supplementary Readings are removed from the Reserves shelves when a term is over. Instructors will need to re-submit their requests to the Library at least 2 weeks prior to a new semester (even though the materials for the Supplementary Readings remain the same).
Course Syllabi and Profiles
Instructors will need to work with OAA and corresponding program directors to update the Course Syllabi and Profiles if there are any approved changes to the Required and Suggested Textbook(s) for their courses. Please note that there may be other instructors teaching the same course. Moreover, the official records of the Course Syllabi and Profiles kept in OAA should reflect the changes. Please contact OAA for details.
Evaluation/Desk Copies of Proposed Textbooks
Faculty seeking evaluation/desk copies of a textbook for review must contact the publisher directly. Such copies are generally supplied electronically. Please consult the publisher’s website for details.
