Introduction

The practice of placing materials on course reserves at college and university libraries–that is, of setting those materials aside from the main collection for short-term use by students in particular classes–is one that has existed since the 1870s. ¹ It is a practice which is still very much in vogue today, in spite of recurring skepticism as to its educational effectiveness and in spite of periodic forecasts of its demise. Whether course reserves has endured only because “traditions and patterns of library service are sometimes too deeply ingrained to undergo change,” ² or whether it is an “inevitable and essential part of our contemporary system of higher education” ³ is a topic that is still debated on a regular basis today. One might argue that any service (whether library-related or not) that has been continually offered and used for more than 125 years must be of value.