Course reserves services

For students

Log in to course reserves for your course materials.

If the materials for the course you’re currently registered in does not appear in Course Reserves, please check Brightspace.

Check when your print items (Books) are due: My Library Account

For instructors

All requests submitted to Course Reserves must comply with the UVic's Fair Dealing Guidelines

Submit your course materials to our new Course Reserves Syllabus Service.

Print course materials

Complete the online request form. Please keep in mind that due to space limitations in the Reserve Room, we will evaluate each request based on the following criteria:

  • If there is an ebook available
  • If only 10% or 1 chapter is required.
  • Only accepting titles from the course's Required Reading list

Electronic course materials

Requests for electronic course reserves can be sent to reserves@uvic.ca

In the body of the email, please include:

  • Full citation information for each item;
  • The course number, semester,  and unit number (if you want this included);
  • Any links for the readings; and
  • If you are requesting an item that the library doesn’t hold, you must provide a scanned PDF of the item.

If your course has been offered previously and you wish to use the same materials, please let us know and we can roll over the materials to the next semester.

Processing times

To ensure that your course materials are processed quickly, please submit your requests as soon as possible and provide full citation information for each item.

In order for course materials to be processed by the beginning of term, please be aware of the following deadlines:
- Summer (May-August) terms: first call March 15; second call April 15
- Fall (September-December): first call July 15; second call August 15
- Spring (January-April) terms: first call November 15; second call December 5

Course lists received at the beginning of term may take two weeks to process from the time received.

Requests are processed in the order in which they are received. 

Items for Course Reserve: Restrictions:
  • Links to ebooks and journals accessible via library licensed resources
  • Links to material freely accessible on the web
  • Personal copies of books, journals, textbooks, lecture notes, etc.
  • PDFs of articles from journals or a limited number of pages from a book (please see UVic's Fair Dealing Guidelines for further information)

The following items will not be placed on reserve:

  • Coursepacks
  • Books from the libraries' collections IF an electronic version is available
  • Publishers' complimentary/desk copies of text books
  • Physical Items (Library copies) that are not part of required course readings

Please see the Course Reserves infographic for more information.

If you are unsure about whether or not your material is allowed to be shared, please contact the Copyright Office.

Alternatives to Course Reserves

In addition to placing material on Course Reserve, you may consider the following:

Brightspace

Once your course materials have been processed by Reserves, add the Course Reserves link to your Brightspace course for students to quickly access readings. 

You can also upload your material to Brightspace directly. Please ensure that you check the Fair Dealing Guidelines before doing so. 

For more information, please see the PDF on the General Principles of using Course Materials.

Coursepacks

The UVic Bookstore may be able to produce e-coursepacks that consolidate all your course readings. These are customized to your specifications and available for sale to your students. The bookstore takes care of copyright clearance, printing and duplicating of the material, coursepack preparation, and stocking them on their shelves. There will be a retail cost associated with this activity.

Please see the Copyright Office's page on Course Materials for more information.

Course reserve locations

McPherson Library
Mearns Centre for Learning

reserves@uvic.ca

  • Course reserves print collection is located on the main floor of McPherson Library beside the Ask Us Desk.
  • Course Reserve location for all courses except Faculty of Law courses.
  • Reserve media materials are also available here: DVDs, videos, CDs, films, recordings, and music scores.

Diana M. Priestly Law Library 
Fraser Building

250-721-8565

reserves@uvic.ca

  • Law Library reserves are located on the main floor of the Priestly Law Library in the self-serve Reserve room.
  • Reserve location for all Faculty of Law courses.
  • Additional reserve materials unique to Law: court cases, statutes, regulations, etc.
  • Reserve items in the Law library are currently exempt from overdue fines.