Affordable Access to Course Materials

Placing an item on reserve is a cost-effective way to ensure that students have equal access to high-demand materials. Requests are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. In order to ensure that your items are available when you need them, please submit your request as early as possible. 

Physical items such as books, audio CDs, or videos can be placed on reserve. You cannot place items obtained via InterLibrary Loan, GIL Express, Netflix, or any service related to the aforementioned, on reserve. At the end of each semester, professors will receive an email asking them if they would like to keep items on reserve or have them removed. 

Library-Owned Materials

To place an item the library owns on reserve, fill out the Reserves Request Form or obtain a paper copy from Ingram Library’s Circulation desk. If you have any questions regarding the form, contact the Course Reserves Specialist at 678-839-6502 or reserves@westga.edu.

Materials You Own

At the beginning of the semester, you can send materials through campus mail to the Course Reserves Specialist or bring in items to be placed on reserve. Please make sure you have filled out and included the Reserves Request Form. Personal copies will be labeled both physically and on the Reserves Request Form under the “Call Number” section as “PC.” We strongly recommend that personal copies be designated  “IN-LIBRARY USE ONLY.” Please be advised that you are placing your materials on reserve at your own risk. 

Ordering Materials

If there is an item that you would like to have placed on reserve that the library does not own, you are welcome to request that Ingram Library order the item to be added to our permanent collection for future use. To do so, please fill out the Reserves Request Form and indicate that the item is to be ordered by marking an “X” in the section titled “To order.” Then, send the form to the Course Reserves Specialist via campus mail or e-mail it to reserves@westga.edu. You do not need to go through your liaisons for reserve-specific orders.

Please submit order requests as far in advance as possible in order to ensure that they are available when your students need them. Remember that fiscal year start-and-end dates may also affect the time it takes us to process an order request.

Faculty are invited to contact your subject librarian to see whether the library can purchase an online version of assigned reading materials, if we do not already own a copy. When possible, Ingram Library will purchase unlimited electronic access to research monographs and edited research books that you use as required reading in courses, so that students can access them (and print or download portions) for free. Textbook publishers generally will not sell electronic access to libraries because it cuts into their profit model, but your subject librarian will be happy to check what access options are available to help save your students money!

For materials that we already own in electronic format, contact your subject librarian for help in identifying the best link to include in your syllabus and in CourseDen.

For individual articles or book chapters that we own in print format, use Illiad to request that we scan the item and send it to you as a pdf. This service is subject to copyright restrictions. For more information, email resourcesharing@westga.edu. 

Open Educational Resources (OERs) are high-quality learning materials that can be freely downloaded, edited, and used as an affordable textbook alternative. OERs have been shown to improve student success rates by removing cost barriers, support culturally relevant learning through the diversification of voices represented in the curriculum, and increase engagement by encouraging student participation in the production of open learning materials. Visit the library's OER guide to get started identifying and locating open educational resources in your discipline.

Affordable Materials Grant

Are you interested in adopting open learning materials for your courses, but don’t have the time or resources to make the transition? Consider applying for the Affordable Materials Grant offered through Affordable Learning Georgia. Grant recipients may be awarded up to $30,000 to support the exploration and creation of Open Educational Resources; the adoption of materials available through GALILEO and USG libraries; and the use of other no-cost and low-cost materials. Funding may be used to pay for materials, stipends for faculty, or hire graduate assistants to support the adoption of OER materials. For more information, contact CJ Ivory, Affordable Learning Georgia Library Champion. 

The library provides access to scientific and graphing calculators and laptop computers to support coursework. These items are available for limited checkout times to all enrolled students, on a first-come, first-served basis, and are subject to overdue fines.