We are thrilled to announce the launch of eReserve Plus, our new library course reserve management system that will replace our current Ares system. eReserve Plus offers a deeper integration with Canvas and streamlines the setup process of library course reserves into your courses. It has a very user-friendly interface that allows you to highly customize your course materials in just a couple of clicks. 

The platform also provides real time analytics and insights on how course materials are being used, helping you understand your students' engagement and track which resources are being accessed.

eReserve Plus will be going live for Winter 2026 term, and we will be offering workshops to introduce you to the system and guide you through the process of adding your library course materials. In addition, we will host Zoom Office Hours sessions for you to ask questions and receive one-on-one assistance. The dates for the workshops and Zoom Office Hours are listed below. Please mark your calendar! 

We have also created an eReserve Plus Guide that provides you step-by-step instruction on adding your library course reserve materials. Use this link to access the Guide: https://library.caltech.edu/eReservePlus
 

Workshops

Monday, December 15 @ 10am

Register here: https://libcal.caltech.edu/event/15715746  

Zoom link: https://caltech.zoom.us/j/83736889472

Wednesday, December 17 @ 3pm

Register here: https://libcal.caltech.edu/event/15715747

Zoom link: https://caltech.zoom.us/j/82687251368

December 2025 Zoom Office Hours

Office Hours will be available from 9:30am- 11:00am and 2:00pm- 3:00pm on the dates listed below.

Zoom link: https://caltech.zoom.us/j/84939901110 

Wednesday, December 17 - Friday, December 19

Monday, December 22 - Tuesday, December 23

January 2026 Zoom Office Hours

Office Hours will be available from 9:30am- 11:00am and 2:00pm- 3:30pm on the dates listed below.

Zoom link: https://caltech.zoom.us/j/84939901110

Monday, January 5 - Friday, January 9

Monday, January 12 - Friday, January 16

What Are Course Reserves?

The Library is pleased to provide course materials like textbooks for some Caltech courses through our Course Reserves service.

How can I find course reserve materials like textbooks?

Check out physical reserves like books for three hours from the Sherman Fairchild Library and the Mudd Library.

Log in to Canvas to view and access ebooks, selected book chapters, films, and other electronic material.

Three weeks before terms begin, browse and view purchase options for course material on eCampus, Caltech's online bookstore. 

What is Caltech Library's digital borrowing service (DIBS)?

One challenge the Library confronted in the fall of 2020 was how to allow faculty to include physical books in their course reserves. If patrons weren’t able to access the library to read the books, how could they be included in the course curricula? Enter controlled digital lending.

According to the Position Statement on Controlled Digital Lending by Libraries—based on research by attorney and law librarian Michelle Wu, who later won an Internet Archive Hero Award for her work—controlled digital lending has three core principles:

1. A library must own a legal copy of the physical book, by purchase or gift.
2. The library must maintain an "owned to loaned" ratio, simultaneously lending no more copies than it legally owns.
3. The library must use technical measures to ensure that the digital file cannot be copied or redistributed.

When the Digital Library Development (DLD) team, led by Stephen Davison, first considered controlled digital lending, they “found no suitable off-the-shelf system that could provide access to digitized publications in a manner that mimics the loaning of legally purchased materials.” So starting in early 2021, the DLD team began to design and build the Caltech Library’s new digital borrowing system, affectionately known as DIBS. Read more.

Access and Deadlines

Still have questions?

Check out our Course Reserves FAQs for deadlines and more.