Information for Faculty: Reserves

• For articles, please check for availability in our licensed databases, locate the stable (permanent) link and note the URL address or print the URL identifying page for attachment. If you need assistance with this step, feel free to contact any of our reference librarians -– they’re happy to help!  If it is not available within one of our databases, please include a legible paper copy of the article with the source information noted clearly on the item. 

Copyright Guidelines

Although reuse and posting rights vary by publisher, most articles or items accessible via our licensed databases are already covered by those licenses, and may be incorporated (via direct link, not scan) into the course reserve context at any time.

Memorial Library makes every effort to comply with existing copyright guidelines for all types and methods of reserves.  The “Fair Use” provisions long used for print materials also apply in the electronic reserve arena, and although this remains an uninterpreted area of the law, good faith compliance efforts are expected.

U.S. Copyright Guidelines govern the amount and length of time that material may be placed on reserve. Section 107 permits copying for classroom use only when these four "tests" (or factors) have been evaluated:

1. Purpose: the purpose and character of the use
   (Non profit, one-semester use is usually acceptable in reserve context; ongoing use requires permission from the author, or consider moving to a course-pak approach instead of e-reserves) 
    
2. Nature: the nature of the copyrighted work
   
   
3. Amount: the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole (think in terms of 10% or less of the whole book or journal)
    
4. Effect: the effect of the use upon the potential market or value of the copyrighted work (if your action is prohibiting a sale or royalties being paid to the copyright holder, it is probably not legal)

For further information on copyright, please review The “Fair-Use Statute Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976," or "Fair-Use Overview and Meaning for Higher Education” by Kenneth D. Crews.

What happens to my Course Reserve material at the end of the semester?

Due to copyright guidelines, course reserve material is taken down and returned at the end of each semester. If the item is a part of the library’s collection, it is returned to the shelf. If the item is a personal copy, it is returned to the instructor. E-Reserves are deleted from the online catalog and original papers used for scanning are returned to the instructor.