Faculty Support

Librarians work with faculty to design instructional experiences for undergraduate and graduate students, both online and in person. We can also design instructional materials tailored to a subject. You can request asynchronous instruction such as tutorials and modules, and schedule a class by emailing the librarians at libraryreference@sjf.edu, or by contacting Mia Breitkopf, coordinator of instruction and research services, at (585) 385-7399 or mbreitkopf@sjf.edu.

Lavery Library provides librarian-led instruction to undergraduate students as part of their Fisher Core learning experience. First-year undergraduates experience introductory information literacy instruction in two classes: in their fall Learning Communities courses and in spring during Research-Based Writing. Later, students build research knowledge by working with a librarian in Advanced Research-Based writing.

We invite faculty to include their liaison librarian as a collaborator in a Brightspace course.

Booking is a service offered by Lavery Library for teaching staff or faculty, where we will obtain A/V materials one week prior to the date needed, and hold them at the checkout desk for staff or faculty to pick up. This ensures that the material will be available when it is needed for instruction purposes. All DVD or VHS materials requested must be currently owned by Lavery Library. Please give us a minimum of one week notification prior to the intended show date. Contact the circulation coordinator or supervisor by email, in person, or by calling (585) 385-8165.

If you need to place items on reserve for your students to watch out of class, please see Course Reserves.

Proxy borrowing is a service we offer faculty members who would like to send their student assistants to the Library to check out material on the faculty member's account. In order for the Library to allow a student to check out items for the faculty member, we need written permission to borrow on file. If you would like your students to check out Library items or pick up your interlibrary loan items for you, please contact the Circulation Coordinator, or come to the Library checkout desk to fill out a form. Permissions must be renewed yearly.

The checkout desk secures and circulates high-priority materials for short time periods, giving each patron an opportunity to use them. Generally, we recommend only required readings be put on reserve. Bring or request materials to be added to course reserves at least 5 days in advance. Materials will be processed in the order they are received.

Please fill out this Course Reserves Request Google Form once for each course needing items on reserve.

Students will need their Fisher ID to check out reserve material. Faculty should retrieve all non-Lavery Library material from their reserves at the end of each semester. Materials may be left on reserve if they are to be used the semester immediately following. Library reserves should not take the place of purchased textbooks or course packs.

The Library adheres to the following copyright guidelines:

• Copies of consumable copyright material such as workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, and answer books may not be put on reserve, although the originals may be.
• Copyright guidelines suggest that up to 10% of any book may be photocopied and put on reserve. If more than 10% is needed, the book itself should be placed on reserve.
• Photocopied articles may not be placed on reserve for more than one semester without written permission from the copyright owner. Fisher is registered with the Copyright Clearance Center.
• If you are unsure of copyright, please see our copyright subject guide for more information.

For questions regarding reserve policies, call the Checkout Desk at (585) 385-8165, Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Lavery librarians take the responsibility for collection development seriously and rely on faculty input in the process to select materials for the Library in various subject areas. Materials are selected to support the curriculum and enhance the Library collection for all users. We appreciate the time, effort, and specialized knowledge that you apply to this task. 

Library Materials Purchasing Process

We have a liaison librarian for each undergraduate major and graduate program. For a list of librarian liaisons and contact information, you can visit Subject Librarians.

Liaison librarians provide support and resources for faculty scholarship and teaching including discipline-specific research guides and databases.