The policy for Reserves, including electronic and media materials, is based on the provisions of fair use in the United States Copyright Act of 1976. Section 107 . Copyright restrictions apply to copies only, not originals placed on physical reserve in either Circulation or Media Center.
Guidelines for course reserves-- Each item under copyright protection will be evaluated using the 4 fair use factors:
- purpose (educational or for profit),
- nature of the work (creative/factual),
- amount used (small portion or entire work),
- effect on the market (loss of sales).
The law of fair use applies more narrowly to highly creative works; so the Library may choose not to accept for Reserve substantial excerpts from:
- novels,
- short stories,
- poetry,
- modern art images,
- other such materials.
Content should be restricted to only the amount of an item necessary for class. The less used, the more likely it is fair use.
Cost-- Reserve should only include material that the instructor, the Library, or another unit of the educational institution lawfully owns. The Library will make reasonable efforts to purchase any materials required for teaching needs and will process copyright requests for faculty members. Copyright fees or articles purchased will be paid for by the Library with a guideline of $50 per item or $500 per class. Costs beyond this may be referred back to the faculty member for departmental payment or other arrangements.
All media requests for Reserve will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Though the Library attempts to purchase distribution rights with media materials, often licensing terms will supersede legal rights.
Reserve period--At the end of each semester, all material on Reserve will be removed unless it does not fall under copyright restrictions or permission has been obtained. For students with incompletes, the instructor must notify the Library to request extended access to needed course materials.
Repeat use--Repeat use of material by the same instructor for the same course may require permission of the copyright owner or payment of copyright fees. The Library will research and request permission from the copyright owner for such uses when necessary.
Access--Access to materials shall be limited by password or other means to deter unauthorized access beyond studenst enrolled in the specific course for which the materials are needed. Each class will have a different username and password. The Library will provide the password to instructors or their designee. Course faculty should disseminate this information to the students in the class in a non-public manner.
Citation--Materials requested for Reserve should include a full citation to the orignial source of publication.
The Library reserves the right to refuse materials if violation of copyright law is a concern.