Faculty

At faculty request, the library can move regular library resources into the Course Reserves. Faculty may also place their personal copies of books onto Reserve for students enrolled in their courses. Reserve materials are located behind the circulation desk on the first floor of the library. 

Articles and/or scans complying with Fair Use may also be placed on eReserve and will be available through the library catalog's Course Reserves section (resources will be arranged by professor's name and course code/name); users will need to login to the catalog to download eReserves. eReserves will only remain active during the semester for which they are requested; each semester, the library will verify which courses are being offered and remove eReserves for inactive courses.

Although Reference materials may not leave the library, librarians are happy to assist adjunct faculty in obtaining copies of relevant entries in Reference materials (within the bounds of U.S. copyright law). 

Nelson faculty are encouraged to borrow responsibly, returning resources in a timely manner so that other users have a chance to use those resources, too. Faculty are exempt from all library fines and fees, though we will never turn down a donated replacement copy for lost resources.

Nelson faculty may utilize Interlibrary Loan to obtain resources to which Nelson does not already have access. Faculty have no limit for the number of ILL books requested at one time, though faculty are encouraged not to exceed four (4) ILL books at any given time. There is no limit to the number of simultaneous article requests one may place. Faculty are responsible for returning physical items to the Library in a timely manner (by the posted Due Date) or they could be blocked from obtaining physical items through ILL in the future.

ILL Limits:

• eBooks: Due to licensing, the library is unable to obtain whole eBooks through ILL, though we can frequently obtain an individual chapter through ILL.
• Distance: Adjunct faculty living outside of driving range of the Waxahachie campus are encouraged to work through their local public library to obtain physical books through ILL.
• Media: Media materials such as videos, music, or audio books cannot be obtained through ILL. Requests for such material will be discarded.
• Digital media: Digital materials such as videos, music, or audiobooks may not be obtained through ILL. Requests for such materials will be discarded.

Due to copyright restraints, materials obtained through ILL cannot be placed in course reserves (print or digital).

Checkout lengths/due dates for physical items vary depending on the lending library's policies. Patrons may request a maximum of one (1) extension/renewal per book.

ILL books that arrive in the library will be available for pickup for one week after arrival. Any books not picked up in that week will be promptly returned to the owning libraries. If pickup within one week is not possible, please contact the library to discuss the situation; the book may be picked up later at the librarian's discretion.

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of copies or other reproduction of copyrighted material. If a user makes a request for, or later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of fair use, that user may be liable for copyright infringement. We reserve the right to refuse a request if, in our judgment, fulfillment of the order involves violation of copyright law.

The Nelson Memorial Library provides information literacy instruction as part of the Strategies for Student Success (S3) course taken by all freshmen in their first semester. Additionally, we provide specialized sessions during both lower- and upper-level courses as requested by faculty. 

In addition to the instructional videos, one-on-one sessions are available with students upon request. One-on-one sessions can occur in person in the Nelson Memorial Library, over the phone, or through email. If you are interested in scheduling an instruction session, please call 972.825.4761 or email library@nelson.edu.