IMPORTANT UPDATE: In an effort to protect student health and safety, print materials in the physical Course Reserves items will be quarantined (therefore, unavailable for checkout) for 3-5 days after each use, depending on the paper type.
VCU Libraries also supports professors looking to lower textbook costs using library ebooks or open educational resources (OER). If you are interested in learning more or have questions about OER or affordable course content, contact Jessica Kirschner, Open Educational Resources Librarian, or visit the Open and Affordable Course Content page.
To recommend that the library purchase a book (not a required textbook) which can be used as course content, use the purchase request form or contact Karen Cary.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the course reserves team at libtlireserve@vcu.edu.
VCU Libraries reserves the right to reject for reserves any material that it deems violates copyright law. Faculty members are responsible for acquiring permissions beyond those provided by the Copyright Act.
Collection Management will consider purchasing suggested materials that are not in the Libraries' collection.
Faculty can share their required reading list with us via email to libtlireserve@vcu.edu for Cabell Library course reserves or libtmlcirc@vcu.edu for Tompkins-McCaw course reserves. Make sure to include your name, course number and course name (BIOL 101 Biological Concepts), and the loan period for each item you want to put on reserve (2 hours, 4 hours, 24 hours, 3 days or 7 days).
Materials delivered must be accompanied by one of the following:
Submit materials in first-use priority and indicate the assignment "start" and "end" date. This allows prioritized processing at the beginning of the semester.
Materials are processed in the order of receipt. A confirmation email will be sent to the instructor when processing is complete.
Processing time:
Items can be added to or removed from an existing course by emailing libtlireserve@vcu.edu for Cabell Library course reserves and libtmlcirc@vcu.edu for Tompkins-McCaw course reserves. You can also deactivate a course via email. If you are taking a course off of reserve, you can indicate the preferred method of return for your personal items -- campus mail or pick up from the library.
If the same material is used for another semester, you must reactivate the course via email. Otherwise, your course will not display in the reserves list for the next semester and materials will be removed from reserves. At the end of the semester, you will receive an email reminder to update your course reserves.