Taubman Health Sciences Library
Course Reserves - Information for Instructors
This information is to assist instructors wishing to submit, update or delete a list of required readings in the Taubman Health Sciences Library's Course Reserve collection.
Office hours during which we can address all your questions about reserves submissions or the status of a particular list are typically Monday through Friday, 8am-5 pm (call 734-936-1408) or email (thlreserves@umich.edu). Hourly staff on duty in the evenings and on weekends will be happy to try to assist you, but may need to refer certain questions to other staff to handle during office hours. You may reach us by phone at (734) 764-1210.
General information - for submitting, and making additions to, a list of required readings
Other changes to an existing list
General Information
for submitting, and making additions to, a list of required readings
Please submit your reserve lists to us as soon as you can and, whenever possible, well before the beginning of the term. We want to do everything we can to ensure that we have materials available for your students by the time they are needed. Even if your list is incomplete, we will be happy to process what we can now and accept additions to your list later. In any case, we will accept new lists, and additions and deletions to existing lists, at any time. In addition to your list, a copy of your class syllabus is extremely helpful.
We need to have your requests in writing, but there are several ways you can submit them to us (but click here to view the information we need):
- in person, or via campus or US mail
(to Course Reserve Services, 4905A Taubman Health Sciences Library,
1135 E. Catherine St. - 5726, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2038) - FAX (734-763-1473)
- via e-mail to thlreserves@umich.edu
- using the Taubman Health Sciences Library's request form
Items may be placed on reserve for multiple instructors, courses and terms. Reserve staff date all requests when we receive them and process them on a first-come, first-served basis. Processing includes searching the library system for the locations of the requested materials, pulling books, data entry work and preparing the materials for the Reserve collection. The length of time required for processing is approximately four to seven days depending on the availability of the materials and the completeness of the information provided to us.
We provide a choice of two hours, four hours, or three days as loan periods. If a loan period is not specified, all items on a list will circulate for two hours.
To place required reading materials on Reserve, the following information is needed:
| Instructor Information: | Instructor's name and name of contact person, department and address, course number, course title, number of students in the class, and term that the course is being offered |
| Book Information: | Author or editor, title, edition, year of publication, loan period (2 hours, 4 hours, 3 days) |
Click here for a link to the Taubman Health Sciences Library's request form.
If any items are unavailable, we will let you know why, when we expect them to become available and what we need to do to accomplish that. We hope to provide you with the best service possible in a timely manner.
Textbooks
Any book owned by Taubman that is not in the Reference collection may be placed on reserve. Our staff would be happy to obtain books owned by other UM libraries whenever possible and place them on reserve in the Taubman Health Sciences Library. If a book is not owned by UM, it will be ordered if it is still in print. This includes new editions of books that are currently owned. Typically book orders take a minimum of three working days to receive with out-of-stock or difficult titles taking one month or longer. Multiple copies will be provided when necessary. When a book is completely unavailable, instructors may bring in their own copies of a book to be put on reserve for the term needed.
Electronic Reserves
The University Library is offering electronic versions of needed articles, book chapters, and other readings for course support via the Library's 7FAST service; please click here for further information.
Course Lists
After the Reserve staff processes requests and activates the records for a particular course in Mirlyn, that information will become immediately available to users of the Mirlyn public catalog (OPAC). To view items on reserve in Mirlyn, click here.
If items have been requested for multiple instructors and/or courses, they will be listed under each accordingly. Your students will need to provide call numbers for print materials to the staff at the Information Services desk. If items you have requested do not appear on your list, we may still be working on them. Please contact Reserve staff during regular business hours (8am-5pm) for further information.
Renewing an Existing List
After a course list has been established, the list will only be renewed for future terms at the instructor's request. After the end of the term, and well before the beginning of the next term that we believe a particular course might once again be offered, we will send the instructor a final copy of the course list. We willl also enclose a form letter asking if the instructor wants to utilize reserve services for that course again and, if so, for which items and for what term. The instructor may indicate the course needs at that point, or hold off until later. As with all requests, renewals will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Making Deletions from a List
As with additions and renewals, requests for deletions are dated when received. However, deletions are given a lower processing priority, unless the instructor indicates that the need is urgent. Personal copies of materials that were loaned to Reserves and which are being deleted will be returned to the owning instructor. We cannot return books via campus mail, so we will notify you when they are ready for you to pick up. Book titles belonging to other UM Libraries will be returned to the owning collection.
Other Changes to an Existing List
The Course Reserve Services will need to be notified when there is a change in the primary instructor of a reading list, to ensure that Reserve correspondence is sent to the right person. We will also need to be notified if a curricular change has resulted in a change in the name or number of a given course.
