Physical Reserves

To place USC-owned material or an instructor's person copy on reserve, submit the request in Course Reserves.  Based on which location you wish to place the reserve item (see Physical Reserves Locations below) the material will be pulled from the shelves, processed, and routed to the selected location. 

Instructors can set the following circulation periods:

• 3-Hour
• 1-Day
• 3-Day

Submitting Physical Reserves Requests

As with electronic reserves, we also experience a high volume of physical reserve requests at the beginning of each semester so please note the following information as you plan your needs for course reserves.  

• Items eligible for reserve includes books owned by USC Libraries, course readers, and audio-visual materials owned by USC Libraries.  Books obtained through interlibrary loan cannot be placed on reserve.
• An instructor can submit their own personal copy to be placed on reserve or request for USC-owned material to be placed on reserve. Please keep in mind that personal books/DVDs are used by your students and normal wear and tear may occur. USC Libraries assumes no liability for damage to personal items placed on reserve. 
• If you are dropping off a physical item to be placed on reserve, pleaese complete a Drop-Off form. You can download, print, and fill out the form and include it with your reserve item.  

• Please note that if neither a personal copy is provided or if the item is not owned by USC, you can still place the request and select the option to be considered for purchase and added to USC Libraries' collection. Please note that we can only consider an acquisition of a title if it is available as an e-book.  If an electronic version is not available, Acquisitions will consider purchasing a physical copy.  

   

Viewing DVDs On Reserve

• Students viewing DVDs on Reserve can check out laptops, portable DVD players, and headphones at the Leavey Circulation Desk on the first floor.
• The default checkout time for Course Reserve DVDs is 3 hours.
• Students may use the Media Room (next to Circulation Desk) to project the DVDs from the laptop to a larger display monitor. 
• Students may also reserve a Study Pod to project the DVDs from the laptop to a larger display monitor.  To reserve a Study Pod at Leavey go to libcal.usc.edu

Checking Physical Reserve Request Status

Instructors can check the status of a request logging into Course Reserves, clicking on their course, and viewing the far-right column under "Status".  Statuses include:

• Awaiting Reserves Processing.  Request has been submitted and is pending review by staff.
• Awaiting Supply by Instructor. Request has been submitted and is pending receipt by ARES staff.  This usually refers to personal book copies supplied by the instructor.  Please note: personal book copies will be returned, usually by campus mail, at the end of the semester unless requested otherwise.
• Awaiting Acquisitions Fulfillment. This status refers to requests is not owned by USC Libraries and has been routed to a USC librarian who manages these purchases and is under review or in process. 
• Awaiting Recall Processing. Request is in use by another patron and has been recalled by ARES staff.  The other patron has 14 days to return the item which will then be processed upon receipt. 
• In Stacks Searching. Item is currently being searched on USC Libraries' shelves for reserves processing.
• Item Activation Pending. Item is pending start of the semester date as configured in the system.  If an instructor needs a course to be activated before the official USC semester start date, please contact us. 
• Item Available at Reserve Desk.  Request has been processed and is accessible from the assigned library.  

Request to Purchase a book for Reserves

If your reserves request for a book is not currently owned by any USC Libraries, you may submit it to be considered for purchase to be added to our collection. It will then be placed on reserves upon receipt. The request must be first entered into Course Reserves with the option Please consider this for purchase selected on the form.  Please note that we can only consider an acquisition of a title if it is available as an e-book.  If an electronic version is not available, Acquisitions will consider purchasing a physical copy.  

The request to purchase will then be reviewed and forwarded to our Acquisitions Department.  Please note that many factors are involved in purchasing an item for reserve such as availability, cost, and subject.  Acquisitions will ultimately decide whether or not to purchase the item and the instructor will be notified, via e-mail, regarding the decision and timetable for its availability.  

Course-required textbooks do not qualify for purchase since the libraries do not purchase course-required textbooks for the collection.  You may want to consult the USC Bookstore's Textbooks & Digital Course Materials service for additional textbook access options.  

In order to submit a request-to-purchase in a timely matter (particularly orders coming from abroad) please note the following timetable:

• Fall Semester - please submit request-to-purchase by July 15th
• Spring Semester - please submit request-to-purchase by December 1st 

• Summer Semester - please submit request-to-purchase by April 1st

   

Physical Reserves Locations

Physical items may also be placed on reserve in any of the libraries listed below depending on your department, subject area, or location on campus.  Please see the individual library and contact information for further information or questions.