LibGuides: Copyright: Library Use and Copyright

Is the Library Protected?

Yes! The Library is first and foremost protected by Section 109, The First Sale Doctrine. The First Sale Doctrine gives owners of copyrighted works the rights to sell, lend, or share their copies without permission or fees. This includes individuals and their personal collections as well as libraries.

However, this does not include the right to make more copies of the material.

As librarians, we have a duty to uphold copyright laws and guidelines to make sure that the library is protected and does not risk breaking the law. This means that we will do our due diligence and not provide staff, faculty, or students with materials that do not follow these guidelines.

Library Materials and Copies

As a student, staff, or faculty member, you are able to make a copy of library materials. This includes both digital and physical items.

This means that you can pull a physical book from the collection and scan, using the copier or a smart device, the pages that you need.
Many of our vendors allow download of pages of digital books. Look for the option to download or print pages when viewing an ebook.
Interlibrary Loan is the sharing of materials between libraries. We can request digital copies of items from other libraries that we do not own.

All copies must adhere to copyright fair use restrictions.

Saving and Scanning Resources

One of the best ways to make our items more accessible is to make and save copies of both our physical and electronic resources.

We are able to make copies or save PDFs of library resources as long as we remain within copyright restrictions. The general rule guide is 2 chapters or 10% of a work, whichever is less.

Scanning or photographing physical items is permitted within the library. You may use the printer/copier within the library to make scans of a book; however, we ask that you make sure you do not damage the book in the process.

It is also acceptable to take pictures of a book with your iphone or android device. By using your phone or tablet to take photos of a text, you have the benefit of using accessibility technology available on these devices. Many smart devices can now translate and read aloud text in images.

Using a scanning app (e.g. Apple Notes, Evernote, Adobe Scan, Google Drive, etc.) can be a great way to compile your scans together to be able to refer back to later. Many of these apps also have accessibility features to improve your scans.

When negotiating access to electronic resources, the Libraries works with vendors to ensure they offer a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT). The VPAT is a document that explains how electronic resources licensed by the Libraries meet Revised 508 Standards for IT accessibility. While many vendors with whom we work have a VPAT in place for their resources, there are others still working to tailor a VPAT for their resources.

While many of our web pages and resources have been reviewed for established guidelines for accessibility, there are many legacy materials that are not yet fully compliant with those guidelines.

The ability to save electronic resources varies depending on the publisher. Generally, you will see a download option when viewing e-resources. Again, there will be limits to how much you are able to download. These are determined by the publisher and copyright right guidelines.