Text size:
smaller text larger text
Dominican University Home
Our engaging and challenging academic programs are taught by outstanding faculty involved in research, scholarship and preparing students for a meaningful life rich in opportunities.

Library Reserves, Copyright & Fair Use

Library Reserves Copyright & Fair Use

Library Policy on Reserve Material

Copyright Permission Form

Electronic Reserves

Electronic Reserves FAQ

Making readings available for students can be vital to teaching at the University. Often materials that a faculty member may wish to provide are protected by the copyright laws of the United States. As responsible members of the University, faculty members are obligated to abide by the provisions of the law as far as possible. Articles and portions of books cannot be reproduced unless they are covered by the fair use provision of the copyright law or permission has been sought from the holder of the copyright.

Fair Use

Copyright policy at the University is based on the provisions of fair use of the United States Copyright Act of 1976. Section 107 of this Act permits the making of multiple copies of copyrighted works for classroom use. It identifies four factors for determining fair use:

    1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit purposes;
    2. The nature of the copyrighted work; fair use generally applies to non-fiction;
    3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
    4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Materials that are not subject to copyright protection and may be used freely are:

  • US Government Documents
  • Works in the public domain, i.e. not covered by copyright because of date or because the author did not choose to copyright the work
  • Works that lack originality e.g. phone book
  • Ideas, processes, methods, and systems described in copyrighted works
  • Facts
  • Freeware
  • Materials that are created by the faculty (such as lecture notes, exams, and syllabi)

Some copyrighted materials that can be posted electronically or copied as student readings without getting permission from the copyright owner fall under the "fair use" provision of the Act. Fair use provides that certain limited use of copyrighted materials for such purposes as teaching, criticism, reporting, scholarship and research is not an infringement of copyright.

Materials that do not require copyright permission are:

  • A journal article that appears full-text in a Dominican University subscribed on-line database
  • A single journal article used for one semester
  • A single book chapter used for one semester
  • Works of art used for one semester
  • Brief selections from a journal article or book chapter

The following are examples of materials that fail to meet the criteria of "fair use", and therefore require obtaining copyright permission:

  • A journal article, or book chapter that has been previously placed on electronic reserve or Blackboard
  • Multiple chapters from a single book or multiple articles from a single issue of a journal
  • Documents that are consumable in the course of study or teaching ( e.g workbooks, exercises)
  • Fictional and other creative works (e.g. a poem, a play)
  • Articles or parts of books that are copied and sold as course packets

Making Readings available for your students:

Copyright must always be followed as closely as possible in making readings available to your students. The Copyright Permission Center of the Library can assist you in seeking copyright permission and in providing your students with selected readings.

Three methods for providing readings are:

    1. Print or electronic reserve. Articles or portions of books can be placed on reserve. It is not necessary to seek copyright permission for print reserves. Electronic reserves require that the faculty member provide a clean copy of the material and should indicate on the reserve form whether permission needs to be sought from the copyright owner or if the document is covered by the principles of fair use.
    2. Course packets sold or given to students. Print readings in course packets fall under copyright protections and also require that the faculty member request copyright permission for using such material. Copyright and distribution may be arranged through a commercial vendor such as Xanedu. Individual readings are also subject to copyright regulation.
    3. Readings included in Blackboard. Such readings are also subject to copyright restriction. When copyrighted materials are made available through Blackboard, the course should be password protected. Posting readings on Blackboard is perhaps the most effective method of providing student readings.

Procedures for requesting copyright permission:

    1. Faculty should carefully review the copyrighted material to be used and determine whether they need to obtain permission from the copyright owner or if the document is covered by the principles of fair use. For example, if the journal article has been posted on Blackboard or electronic reserve for your class during a semester and you want to use the same article again the following semester, a copyright permission must be sought from the copyright owner. Permission must be sought for each subsequent use.
    2. Faculty are responsible for providing a complete bibliographic citation (including title, author, copyright or publication date, volume, issue and edition of the publication, chapter or article title, and the exact page numbers of the material to be used), and the approximate number of students in the class. Please use the form on the Library's web site for submitting copyright permission requests.
    3. For Blackboard requests, faculty should submit a copyright permission form to the library copyright permission center. For electronic reserves, faculty should submit a copy of the reserve form, a photocopy of the article (unless it is already in electronic format), and a copyright permission form to the circulation staff.
    4. In order to have adequate time to process the electronic reserve, materials that are not protected by fair use must be submitted four weeks in advance so that library staff will have enough time to request permission from the copyright owner. Materials will be placed on electronic reserve upon receipt of the faculty request to obtain permission. Permission will be requested immediately.
    5. Library staff will obtain permission from the copyright owner. If permission is refused, the article will be removed from the electronic reserve and faculty will be notified. For Blackboard permission requests, faculty will be notified of any refusal.
    6. For electronic reserves, every class will have its own password to access class material. It is the responsibility of the faculty to provide a password on the reserve submission form and to notify their students. The articles on electronic reserve are only available to students in that class. Librarians will not have access to the password or the material and will be unable to assist students who have forgotten the password.
    7. Library staff will disable electronic reserve documents in the system at the end of each semester. As necessary, copyright permission will be required to replace electronic reserve documents in the system.
    8. Documentation of copyright permission will be maintained by the Library copyright permission center.
    9. Course packets should be arranged and distributed through Xanedu: http://www.xanedu.com/ . Xanedu will seek copyright clearance and will supply course packets.
    10. Office Services and the Stephan Bookstore will require a copyright permission to be attached to each item for course packets that are to be photocopied for sale in the Bookstore. The copyright permissions must be obtained in advance of reproduction.
    11. The Library will absorb the cost of most copyright fees. However in the case of very high cost the faculty member will be informed of alternatives. The Library reserves the right to refuse to seek copyright or to bill back the cost to the academic department.
    12. Copyright permission is not necessary for the spontaneous use of reading that the faculty needs immediately for a class because it falls under the fair use provision of copyright law. If used subsequently, permission is required. Office Services may reproduce such a reading for the faculty member.

For Further Information: University of St Francis has an appealing site that explains fair use and other aspects of the copyright law.

Questions to;
Inez Ringland
708-524-6873
ringland@dom.edu