Reserves Collection Policy

For assistance contact the Library Service Desk.

The principal mission of the Trent Library is to support the curricular and research needs of the students and faculty of Trent University. The Library supports members of the Trent community who require access to required and supplemental readings for courses while respecting the holders of the copyright in such materials, in keeping with the Fair Dealing provisions in Section 29 and other relevant exceptions in the Canadian Copyright Act.  Single copies of library materials, required for the purposes of research, private study, education, parody or satire, may be provided to members of the Trent community.

The Library Reserves collection is not a stagnant collection, and as such is regularly maintained. Once a year, instructors receive a list of items on Reserve for each course, along with usage statistics. Through this mechanism instructors may elect to keep items on Reserve for the following academic year or remove them from Reserve. Items which have no record of circulation in the last two academic years will be removed from Reserve. The Library may also remove any items considered to be inconsistent with the guidelines, as outlined below.  Instructors are encouraged to assist in keeping the collection relevant by informing the Reserve staff of any instructor or course code changes.

In order to access the Trent Reserves services and resources, users must have a valid TrentU Card in good standing.  Items are placed on Reserve for either three hours or two nights (i.e. three days), as specified by the instructor or the librarian.

Collection Guidelines

Materials which may be placed in the Library Reserves Collection include:

  • A maximum of one copy per title is permitted. At the Librarian's discretion a second copy may be added.
  • Books owned by the Library.
  • Circulating Maps owned by the Library.
  • Personal copies of books, although these materials are the least preferred. Personal copies will be catalogued and processed accordingly, with a call number, security tape, and circulation slip affixed. Do not provide personal copies of rare or valuable items. Personal copies are deposited at the lender's risk and will not be replaced if lost or damaged while in the Reserve collection.
  • Personal copies may be sent to OCUL's Accessible Content E-Portal (ACE) for digitization in response to a request for an accessible copy of the text.
  • Textbooks, as per the Library Resource Management Guidelines.
  • Other material types as requested, within physical limitations.

Exceptions

  • General high use items: Works that are of general importance to a large number of students can be placed on Reserve under the department name rather than a specific course. For example, The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association can be listed under Psychology.
  • Other high use items: Works such as government documents and reference materials may be placed on Reserve at the discretion of the unit’s librarian or archivist. These can be listed under Library.

Exclusions

  • Current periodicals; bound journals; reference works; materials from Special Collections.
  • Items acquired through Interlibrary Loan.
  • Examinations and course syllabi.
  • Course-packs

Approved by the Librarians’ Committee: December 18, 2014.