Services: Reserves and Reservations

The difference between media reserves and reservations is the length of time needed.

Media Reserves set items aside for the exclusive use of a class for an entire quarter.

Reservations withhold an item from circulation for a short-term need (e.g. a screening during class time.)

Media Reserves

The Media-Microtext Center houses the main Media Reserves collection for the humanities and social sciences:

Instructors may put media material on reserve by submitting their reserve lists at the service desk, or by sending a web-form from the Course Reserves page: Course Reserves web form

Borrowing details -

• The loan period for Reserve media materials is 4 hours.
• Overdue reserves accrue fines hourly until received and discharged.
• Reserves must be viewed in-house:
  • However, they may be lent overnight within 4 hours of the center's close.
  • They are due within 1 hour of opening the following day.

Procedure -

Use the Course Reserves web form or submit a paper form at the Media-Microtext desk:

Processing times:

• Allow 1 to 2 weeks during the busy time in the first few weeks of a quarter.
• Allow 6 to 7 weeks if we need to order a film for you.
• E-mail requests for film purchases to mediamtxt@lists.stanford.edu

Media Reservations

Patrons may request specific items for a one-time short-term loan, such as a classroom screening. These items are flagged and withheld from circulation on the date specified by the patron, until called for by the requestor or their proxy.

Note: for media in other libraries, please make arrangements with the other library, not Media-Microtext.

Copyright considerations -

Screening of media from our collections must meet the fair-use copyright guidelines as set forth by the United States government.

Please see our information sheet: Public Viewing of Media (pdf)

Procedure -

1. Come to the Media-Microtext desk or email mediamtxt@lists.stanford.edu to request the media:
   
   
   • Tell us the title and call number of the media.
   • Tell us the date and period of time needed.
   • Give us your name, email, and phone number.
     
     
2. Reserve a room:
   
   Note: Media-Microtext unfortunately cannot arrange the use of a room. Please work with the following resources to schedule one.
   
   
   • There are no viewing rooms in Green Library, but Meyer Library has several classrooms with multimedia viewing for videos and DVDs: see Academic Computing classrooms.
   • The University's Events and Labor Services provides additional projection and video services.

FAQ

Still confused about the difference between reserves and reservations? The difference is the time period.

• Use Media Reserves to set aside materials for the use of your class over the entire quarter.
• Use Reservations to screen or show a film for your class, on a specific date and time.