For many years the library has provided an e-reserves service to enable faculty to provide students will access to scanned readings. In the last few years most faculty have migrated to placing such readings in their Blackboard courses. Students are far more familiar with using Blackboard than they are with using e-reserves, the copyright concerns associated with placing copyrighted works in Blackboard or on e-reserves are very similar, and in June 2015 the library will be migrated from the Sirsi Symphony system that has provided our online catalog and our e-reserve system to a new integrated library system. This seems like the right time to end the duplication of effort and confusion involved in providing access to online readings via Blackboard and e-reserves and focus instead on the system the students find easiest to use – Blackboard.
Therefore, the next semester – Spring 2015 – will be the last semester in which we accept materials to be placed on e-reserves. After that semester all faculty are asked to plan on placing such readings in their Blackboard courses. If you need assistance in doing so, contact the IT Help Desk.
Please note, our physical reserve system (for books, DVD’s etc.) will continue and is not affected by the change.
Thank you.