Copyright Guide

Does the library own it?

How can I tell if the library owns it?

• If the library owns a digital version of the article, you have two options:

  • Share the stable link with students. Check out our Library Resources for Blackboard guide for instructions on how to find the stable link.

  • Request to have the article added to Course Reserves. This is an easy way for students to find the resources you have selected. Students can search within Course Reserves for your course name, course number, your name, etc., and find a list of your requested articles.

• If the library owns a print version of the article, we can likely scan it for you, but we cannot provide access to it through Course Reserves. You'll need to submit a Resource Sharing request to have the scan completed.

Do you own it?

• If you own a digital version of an article, you'll need to determine what permissions are available:

  • First, check to see if the journal's terms of use say anything about educational use. For example, here's a screenshot from the Table of Contents of Geology:

    

    Caption: The highlighted text in the image reads, "Individual scientists are hereby granted permission, without fees or further requests to GSA, to use a single figure, a single table, and/or a brief paragraph of text in other subsequent works and to make unlimited photocopies of items in this journal for noncommercial use in classrooms to further education and science."

    You can search SHERPA/RoMEO to find a journal's copyright information.

  • Contact your librarian - they may be able to assist in finding a legal copy or acquiring a license for educational use. 

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    If you'd like to make an article you own available online, your best bet is to make sure that your use is in line with fair use principles.

    As a side note, copyright law does give you some leeway with regard to timing. Let's say you've just read the latest issue of a journal, and want to share one of the articles with your students, since it's highly applicable to the topic you're discussing that week. That would likely be allowed (see p.6) because of spontaneous discovery without enough time to get permission from the copyright holder. However, if you're planning your readings weeks in advance, then you do have time to secure permission from the copyright holder.

If the library doesn't own it, and you don't own it...

The library has a few options for acquiring it:

• Interlibrary loan is one possibility, but due to publisher restrictions, you may not be legally allowed to share it without getting permission from the copyright holder.

• Purchasing the article may be possible as well. Contact your librarian for more information.

Does the library have access to the online version?

Do you or the library own a print copy?

• We can put the book on Course Reserves. The best way to do this is to submit a request via our online Course Reserves form. Here's an example of how you might fill out that part of the form:

Example: Penfield owns the book.

Example: Faculty member owns the book.

• If you'd like to scan a chapter so you can make it available online, your best bet is to make sure that your use is in line with fair use principles. 

If we don't have a copy...

• You can submit a purchase request.
  • We'll try to obtain either a print copy or an ebook and add the item to Course Reserves for your class.