Services for Faculty

Otis Faculty may place materials on Reserve in the Library for their students. Reserves are really an extension of the classroom. They include books, copies of chapters from books, and articles from journals and newspapers.

Reserve items may be books or videos from our collection or be personal copies. Please treat them all with care.

Short-Term Loans

These items are held at the Circulation Desk and may be checked out for a limited time (ranging from 2 hours to 2 days).

In Library Use Only

These items are held at the Circulation Desk.

In library use only reserve materials may not leave the Library. Patrons can view (or scan or copy) them within the library. This is mostly done to ensure that there will always be 1 copy available to any student.

Non-Circulating Items

These items are shelved in the Main Stacks.

Non-circulating Items may not leave the Library. Patrons can view (or scan or copy) them within the library. This option is used mainly by core classes, such as Visual Culture 1, to ensure that all students will be able to find at least one book on a specific topic.

Ebooks, Articles, and Webpages

We subscribe to several databases of ebooks and journals. <add link>

If you find an ebook or article or other item from our research databases, that you want to share with your students, you can usually add a link to it in the Nest.

Whenever possible, link to an item whether it is from one of our databases or on the web. If you do upload a PDF:

• You may be breaking copyright law
• We have access to paywalled content through one of our databases
• Neither the library nor the website will see any traffic statistics. If no one is using a database, we may cancel our subscription

Please contact library@otis.edu if you need help.

Course Reserves

To support courses, instructors can put items on reserve for their students.

Traditional Course Reserves

Bring the item(s) to the Circulation Desk and fill out a Reserve Form. After our library staff prepares the item(s) for their new circulation and catalog status, they will be relocated to the Reserve Shelf behind the Circulation Desk for the duration specified by the instructor.

Students can use the item by asking a library staff member. Typically, these items are Library Use Only, meaning they do not leave the library to ensure their availability for other students. Professors can also decide that items on reserve may be checked out for 24 hours.

Please be aware that the process of putting an item on reserve can take up to three days. For questions regarding reserves, contact Vickie Thomas.

Electronic Reserves

Some digital materials are available 24/7 through the Nest (the College's Learning Management System).

Video Reserves

Videos are usually only put on reserve for the week(s) needed. Instructors may check out the reserve videos to play in the classroom; students can only use these items within the library (we have portable DVD players and headphones available). Please send your screening list and any other questions to Derek McMullen.