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Levin Library Copyright Policy

There has been a renewed interest in copyright on college campuses. Many major teaching activities are affected by this law, and publishers have become much more aggressive in protecting copyrighted materials. The copyright law was written in part to provide for the concept of " fair use", which applies to nonprofit educational material. The library would like to help faculty provide the required course readings, books and material for their students within the framework of the law and fair use guidelines.

For repeated use of an article, permission must be obtained each semester the article is used. There is no copyright issue in placing library books or personal copies of material supplied by the instructor (textbooks, workbooks, out-of-print items) or material created by the professor (exams, bibliographies) on reserve. Photocopies may be placed on reserve in the Library without permission if they have not been used for the same class in previous semesters.

Contents of this document:

Link to Course Reserve Photocopy Form

 

RESERVE DEPARTMENT COPYRIGHT GUIDELINES:

 

PHOTOCOPIES, JOURNAL ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS

 

1. You may place chapters of books and/or articles from newspapers and magazines on reserve. The Reserve Department will monitor the length of materials to ensure that the materials placed on reserve conform to the Federal Copyright Act and the "fair use" guidelines.

2. Multiple copies of an item, up to one for every 10 students, may be placed on reserve.

3. The Reserve Department can place photocopied materials on reserve for one semester only without copyright permission. At the end of the semester, the material will be removed from reserve unless copyright permission is received by the Department.

4. The instructor placing materials on reserve is responsible for obtaining copyright permission. Examples of letters requesting copyright permission included in this document.

5. The Library requires that a "Photocopy for Course Reserves" form be filled out for EACH reading which you wish to place on Reserve. This form requires a complete citation for the reading, and must include copyright information.

6. In some cases you must secure copyright permission before placing a photocopy on course reserve: In particular, permission is required if a photocopy of a reading was used on course reserve for this course previously, or if more than 10% of a work is copied. In some cases the copyright holder will require the payment of a royalty before granting permission.

How to secure copyright permission?. It will be necessary for you, or an assistant, to write to the copyright holder. Describe the extent of the copying and the intended use. If unsure of the copyright holder, we recommend you contact the publisher. Addresses, if not included in the publication itself, may be available in Books in Print or other directories in the Library. You may use the form letter included with this document. (The Copyright Clearance Center can also obtain copyright permission for you. They can be contacted at www.copyright.com or 1-978-750-8400.)

  • If the reading was published by the U. S. government, it is generally in the public domain.
  • For works created in 1978 or later, copyright lasts from the creation of the work until 50 years after the author's death.
  • For works created before 1978 with a copyright notice, the maximum duration of copyright protection is 75 years.
  • Therefore, in 1996, works published in 1921 or later which bear a copyright notice are presumed to be still under copyright protection.
  • Works published before 1978 without a copyright notice, are considered to be in the public domain.

 

PERSONAL COPIES

The library will place on reserve any published material supplied by the professor (such as textbooks, workbooks, out-of-print material), or materials created by the professor for the course (such as exams or bibliographies).
 

COURSE PACKS

Faculty are encouraged to consider having course packs created for multiple short readings instead of placing them on course reserve. XanEdu Publishing Services (www.xanedu.com or 1-800-459-2679) can produce and sell such packs. Ask at the bookstore for a handout explaining their procedure. The Library will not purchase course packs for course reserve. However, a professor may elect to provide a course pack to place on reserve as a "personal copy."
 

MEDIA SERVICES

For guidelines regarding audio, video and Internet materials, call or visit Media Services, x2142. Of special interest in the coming year will be what effect electronic publishing and Internet access to documents will have on the copyright law. Further changes in the copyright laws will be sent out as they are received.


 

INTERLIBRARY LOAN COPYRIGHT GUIDELINES

Copyright guidelines for Interlibrary Loan transactions monitor requests that would occur in such quantities " as to substitute for a subscription to or purchase of such work". Therefore, a " rule of five" has been adopted by the American Library Association in regard to Interlibrary Loan requests.

The "rule of five" states that

"...with respect to any given periodical, filled requests of a library within any calendar year will not exceed a total of five copies of an article or articles published in such periodical within five years prior to the date of the request."

It helps to think of the guideline as 1-1-5-5; during one calendar year, for one periodical title, five articles can be copied that were published within the last five years.

Levin Library keeps records of Interlibrary Loan transactions for at least five years.


 

GUIDELINES FOR CLASSROOM COPYING OF BOOKS AND PERIODICALS

Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code details the law regarding copyright. The U.S. Code can be used in Levin Library, or accessed at the following Worldwide Web Site: http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/uscode/. For the items usually applied to colleges and universities, the classroom guidelines are summarized below.

I. Single Copying for Teachers

A single copy may be made of any of the following or any part thereof by or for any faculty or staff member at his or her individual request:

  1. A chapter from a book;
  2. An article from a periodical or newspaper;
  3. A short story, short essay or short poem, whether or not from a collective work;
  4. A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper.

II. Multiple Copies for Classroom Use

Multiple copies (not to exceed in any event more than one copy per student in a course) may be made by or for the faculty giving the course for classroom use or discussion, provided that:

  1. The copying meets the following tests of brevity and spontaneity as defined below; and,
  2. Meets the cumulative effect test as defined below; and,
  3. Each copy includes a notice of copyright

Definitions

Brevity
(i) Poetry: (a) A complete poem if less than 250 words and if printed on not more than two pages, or (b) from a longer poem, an excerpt of not more than 250 words.
(ii) Prose: (a) Either a complete article, story or essay of less than 250 words, or (b) an excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less, but in any event a minimum of 500 words. [Each of the numerical limits stated in "i" and "ii" above may be expanded to permit the completion of an unfinished line of a poem or of an unfinished prose paragraph.]
(iii) Illustration: One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue.
(iv) "Special" works: Certain works in poetry, prose or in " poetic prose" which often combine language with illustrations and which are intended sometimes for children and at other times for more general audience fall short of 2,500 words in their entirety. Paragraph " ii" above notwithstanding such " special works" may not be reproduced in their entirety; however, an excerpt comprising not more than two of the published pages of such special work and containing not more than 10% of the words found in the text thereof, may be reproduced.

Spontaneity
(i) The copying is at the instance and inspiration of the individual teacher, and
(ii) The inspiration and decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission.

Cumulative Effect
(i) The copying of the material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made.
(ii) Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.
(iii) There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term. [The limitations stated in "ii" and "iii" above shall not apply to current news periodicals and newspapers and current news sections of other periodicals.]

III. Prohibitions as to I and II above

Notwithstanding any of the above, the following shall be prohibited:

  1. Copying may not be used to create or to replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works. A prohibited replacement or substitution occurs regardless of whether copies of various works or excerpts therefrom are accumulated or are reproduced and used separately.
  2. There shall be no copying of or from works intended to be "consumable" in the course of study or of teaching. These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets and answer sheets and like consumable material.
  3. Copying shall not:
    1. substitute for the purchase of books, publisher's reprints or periodicals;
    2. be directed by higher authority; or
    3. be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term.
  4. No charge may be made to the student beyond the actual cost of the photocopying.

 

Last updated February 16, 2011.