Cook Library Course Reserves Guidelines

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Introduction

Course reserves are an integral part of Cook Library's mission to provide information services and resources to our patrons and to facilitate student and faculty learning and research at Towson University. The Library is committed to enabling and enhancing access to the information resources we provide for our patrons while respecting the exclusive rights of copyright owners as described in U.S. copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).
Link to Title 17, U.S. Code

Course reserves are for supplementary course materials and are not intended to replace student purchase of assigned textbooks, anthologies, coursepacks, sound recordings, and other materials whenever purchase of these items would be a reasonable expectation for students enrolled in a course.

These guidelines, developed by Cook Library in consultation with the Office of the University Counsel, reflect our good faith understanding of fair use as outlined in Sec. 107, Title 17, U.S. Code, and in existing case law. Copying and scanning of copyrighted works for library reserves is an area of the law which may be further addressed by the courts or future legislation. Cook Library and the University Counsel's Office will continue to monitor developments in this area and take any steps necessary to ensure that our reserve service remains in compliance with all relevant laws.
Link to What is Fair Use?

When Can Materials Go on Reserve?

Upon request by a course instructor, materials may be go on reserve under any of the following circumstances:

  • The instructor or the University owns the copyright to the work, or the instructor has already obtained written permission to include an unauthorized copy of the work in reserves from the copyright owner.

    The copyright owner is not always the original author or creator of the work. Instructors who wish to place copies of their own publications on reserve should check any publishing agreements they may have signed to confirm that they retained the right to copy and distribute their work following publication. Some agreements stipulate the exclusive transfer of all rights in the work to the publisher, potentially requiring the original author to request permission from the publisher for subsequent uses, even instructional uses, of his or her own work.

  • The material is in the public domain.

    The public domain includes works whose copyright term has expired (see below for link Cornell University's chart, Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States), as well as most U.S. Government publications. Works prepared by outside authors on contract to the U.S. Government may or may not be protected by copyright; look to see i f any copyright notices appear on the work. Some state governments have chosen to retain copyright for all of their publications; again, look for any copyright notices on the work before assuming it is in the public domain. Works with multiple copyright owners may only be partially in the public domain; for instance, a sound recording or arrangement of a Beethoven concerto may still be protected by copyright, even though the underlying musical work has long since entered the public domain.
     Link to Cornell University's chart, Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States

  • The materials are included in a resource currently licensed by Cook Library (e.g., a full-text electronic database) and the agreement governing use of that resource allows the library to post material in a library reserves system.

    Linking to a licensed digital work does not involve creation and distribution of an unauthorized copy of the work, which means the copyright owner's exclusive rights usually aren't infringed. Therefore, any requested reserves item that is contained in an electronic resource licensed by Cook Library will be linked to from the course reserves page rather than scanned or otherwise reproduced, unless such linking is prohibited by the license agreement for that resource. To see if a particular journal is currently available in a full-text database licensed by Cook Library, go to
    http://cooklibrary.towson.edu/journalsTU.cfm.

  • Use of the material qualifies as fair use. (see "What is Fair Use?" below)

    Placing materials on reserve often involves the creation of unauthorized copies of a copyrighted work, such as a photocopies or PDFs of book chapters or journal articles, or streaming media files of audiovisual materials. Whether or not the creation and distribution of such unauthorized copies in library reserves constitutes an infringement of the copyright owner's exclusive rights depends on important statutory limitations placed on the copyright owner's exclusive rights, most notably fair use.

  • The copyright owner-or the copyright owner's legal agent-has given Cook Library permission to post the material on e-reserve.

What is Fair Use?

The fair use statute (Sec. 107, Title 17, U.S. Code) serves as one of several limitations on the exclusive rights granted by federal law to copyright owners. Sec. 107 specifies that use of a copyrighted work for purposes such as "teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research" is not an infringement of copyright when the following four factors are taken into consideration in regard to the proposed use:

  • the purpose and character of the use;
  • the nature of the copyrighted work used;
  • the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
  • the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Link to Sec. 107, Title 17, U.S. Code

In any fair use analysis, consideration must be given to all four factors-the factors must be weighed in the aggregate and no single factor is solely determinative of a finding for or against fair use. The fair use statute contains no definitive limits beyond consideration of the four factors, so each use must be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

The instructor and library responsibilities included below apply to all materials placed on reserve at Cook Library. They have been designed to address one or more of the four factors of fair use.

For more information about fair use, see "Fair Use Issues," on the IUPUI Copyright Management Center's site at http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/fairuse.htm.

Instructor Responsibilities Regarding Copyrighted Works Placed on Reserve at Cook Library Under a Claim of Fair Use

By submitting the Course Reserves Request form, instructors confirm the following:

  1. The requested materials will be used for non-profit educational activities relating to specific Towson University courses or educational programs.

  2. The requested reserve materials are supplementary materials and will not substitute collectively for an assigned textbook, anthology, coursepack, or other compilation. (If the requested materials constitute the sole or primary assigned reading material for the course, the instructor should arrange to have a coursepack made by the University Bookstore's Copyright Resource Center, ext. 4-3530).

  3. The instructor will limit distribution of any passwords required to access online course reserves to students enrolled in the course and to instructional/ administrative support staff associated with the course.

  4. 4. Enrollment on any Blackboard course site that links to online course reserves will be limited by the instructor to students officially registered in the course and to instructional/administrative support staff associated with the course.

  5. The requested material is not already included in a coursepack created for the course.

Cook Library Responsibilities Regarding Copyrighted Works Placed on Reserve Under a Claim of Fair Use

  1. Materials will be included solely at the request of Towson University course instructors. Cook Library will not charge for access to e-reserves, nor will patrons making single copies of text materials for private study, scholarship, or research be charged beyond the actual cost of such photocopies or printouts.

  2. E-reserves will only be provided via secure, password-restricted URLs. Physical reserve items will be placed behind a library service desk and made available for limited circulation periods.

  3. Access to reserve materials will be disabled at the end of the semester or when students have completed the course.

  4. Appropriate citations or attributions to sources will be included for each item placed on reserve.

  5. Any notices of copyright that appear on the original item will be reproduced on unauthorized copies of works placed on reserve. If the copyright notice cannot be located, a general notice stating that the work may be protected by U.S. copyright law will be provided.

  6. A copyright notice will be included on a preliminary or introductory screen for all online course pages, notifying patrons that materials used in the course may be protected by U.S. copyright law and that further reproduction or dissemination of these materials (beyond a single fair use copy) is prohibited.

  7. Technological protection measures (TPMs), such as streaming media, will be used to reasonably prevent retention or unauthorized further dissemination of digitized audio and video materials included in e-reserves. Consistent with U.S. law, Cook Library will not circumvent any TPMs included on original digital works in order to include such works, or excerpts from them, in e-reserves.

  8. Material will be linked to, copied, or scanned for inclusion in e-reserves only from copies of the work that have been lawfully acquired by the library, the requesting instructor, or some other unit of the University. Cook Library will purchase commercial digital copies (e.g., compact discs and DVDs) of any audio or video works placed on e-reserves whenever such commercial digital copies are reasonably available. However, if the only reasonably available digital version(s) of the work features TPMs that prevent lawful fair use of the work, Cook Library will copy and stream from lawfully acquired analog copies (e.g., LPs and videocassettes) of those works.

  9. Repeat use of material by the same instructor for the same course may require permission of the copyright owner. Cook Library will research and request permission via the Copyright Clearance Center for such uses when necessary.

  10. Unauthorized copies of "consumable" copyrighted instructional materials (e.g., standardized tests, exercises and workbooks, lab manuals, etc.) will not be placed on reserve under a claim of fair use.

  11. Materials placed on reserve under a claim of fair use will generally meet the following limits as to amount and substantiality of the portion used from the original copyrighted work. Items which exceed these limits may still qualify as fair use, depending on the specific circumstances. Cook Library will make these determinations as warranted, but faculty who would like more information may consult with the library's Copyright Liaison, Rick Davis (rkdavis@towson.edu / ext. 4-2686).

    Print Materials

    A single article from an issue of a journal, magazine, newspaper, or other periodical, so long as the article is of customary length to be considered a small part of the collective work and so long as it could not be considered the "heart" of the collective work.

    A single chapter from a book, so long as the chapter is of customary length to be considered a small part of the collective work and so long as it could not be considered the "heart" of the collective work.

    No more than 10% of the total work, when multiple short chapters or passages selected from throughout a collective work are requested.

    Sound Recordings

    Complete sound recordings of musical works, including complete individual tracks or entire movements of a work, may not be included in e-reserves unless the recording is available in the Naxos database. Cook Library will copy and stream in e-reserves only reasonable and limited excerpts of music recordings not available in Naxos.

    Lawfully acquired copies of complete sound recordings may be placed on physical reserve in Media Resource Services.

    Video Recordings

    Video recordings of entire documentary, educational, and other non-fiction films will be included in e-reserves only when streaming rights have been acquired by the library. Cook Library will copy and stream only reasonable and limited excerpts of fictional feature films and of non-fiction films for which streaming rights have not been acquired.

    Lawfully acquired copies of complete video recordings may be placed on physical reserve in Media Resource Services.

    Special Note About Creative and Dramatic Works and Reserves:

    Unauthorized uses of imaginative or highly creative works, such as music and films, are more restricted under the second fair use factor (the nature of the copyrighted work) than uses of factual or non-fiction works; in addition, dramatic works (plays, operas, musicals, feature films) have historically enjoyed more stringent copyright protection than other types of works. Therefore, while the library might claim fair use to copy an entire journal article for reserves, we will only copy excerpts of music, plays, and films without the copyright owner's permission. In general, instructors should always limit their reserve requests for imaginative/creative or dramatic works to the minimum amount necessary to meet their teaching goal whenever permission to use the work has not been obtained.

Permission for Cook Reserve Items

Cook Library will request permission and pay reasonable license fees via the Copyright Clearance Center for unauthorized copies of protected works included in reserves that exceed fair use.

In cases where payment of a license fee is required and the fee is prohibitive, Cook Library will consult with the requesting instructor about alternatives to including unauthorized copies of the work in reserves. One alternative might be to place an original copy of the work-i.e., not a photocopy, PDF, or other digital file-on print or media reserve in Cook Library. Another alternative might be for the instructor to alter the planned use of the copyrighted work in a way that substantially strengthens the fair use argument and makes permission to use the work unnecessary, such as by using a more limited portion of the work.

 

Course Reserve Guidelines / Albert S. Cook Library
http://cooklibrary.towson.edu/eres/fac/reservesGuidelines.cfm
Last revised: August 10, 2007

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