Library Copyright Policies

Book chapters/articles may be placed on electronic reserve for research/teaching purposes depending on:

• The amount of material being copied
• The purpose of its use, and the nature of the copyrighted work
• Any potential effects on the market.

More information on Fair Use guidelines may be found on the U.S. Copyright Office Web Site

Can I place multiple chapter copies from a book in Sakai?

Book selections placed in Sakai, throughout the duration of a semester, may not exceed more than 1 chapter from a single work with 10 or more chapters, or 10% from a work with less than 10 chapters. If excerpts are taken from several chapters, the amount may not exceed 10% from the entire work. If faculty need more than 10%, the library will attempt to get permission from the Copyright Clearance Center. Obtaining copyright permission depends on whether the publisher has pre-approved the work for course management systems, and the cost of the permission. The actual cost may depend on the number of students enrolled in the class, the amount of material being placed in Sakai, and fees set by the publisher. Fees can range anywhere from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars per item. Copyright fees are paid for by the faculty member's department.

Can I place a student paper on electronic reserve?

As long as you obtain written permission from the student first.

If I can't obtain permission, can't I just obscure the student's name and place it on electronic reserve?

Permission would still need to be obtained since it is still the work of a student.

Can I put a text book on reserve if my textbook order didn't arrive by the start of classes?

Promotional copies of textbooks sent to faculty by publishers cannot be placed on course reserve unless written permission has been obtained for that use. Please send a copy of the permission with the item when it is dropped off at the Circulation Desk, or send it to [email protected]. Purchased copies of textbooks may be placed on reserve as a personal item.

I am the author of a journal article/book. Can I make copies of my own work either in paper format or electronically?

Check with your publisher. Authors sometimes sign their rights over to the publisher when submitting material for publication.

I am teaching the same course next semester. Can I just leave all of my reserves/electronic reserves on for the following semester?

Please submit a new reserve list, and indicate which items have already been on reserve. The library will then check them for copyright compliance.

I requested a book through interlibrary loan. Can I place that item on reserve?

Materials from other libraries are not accepted for reserve. If you need materials for reserve that the Ithaca College Library does not own, you may request that we order them through your Library liaison.

Other helpful information:

The Library reserves the right to refuse to place items on reserve that do not comply with the copyright law, such as reproductions of entire books or entire issues of journals or course packs or other anthologies a faculty member has compiled, where permissions have not been obtained.

All material reproduced by the Library must include notification of compliance with the U.S. Copyright Law.