Library Services for Faculty: Course Reserve Fair Use Analysis

In order to assure that the library staff and patrons comply with the United States Copyright Law, the following policies are implemented.

Based on the Fair Use Doctrine, only the section of reading that is absolutely necessary for educational use (i.e. meeting the teaching goal) should be placed on reserve.

In all reproduced materials, the library includes a copy of the copyright notice as it appears on the original publication and stamps a warning notice: “The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material; the person receiving this copy is liable for any infringement in its use.”

No charge is made for access to the reserve materials.

If the items are not owned by the library or accessible through library electronic resources, they will be purchased. Originals owned by professors may be reserved on a temporary basis.

The same reproduced reading (not owned or licensed by the library) is not placed on reserve more than one semester by the same instructor unless permission is granted by the copyright holder.  If the professor wishes to put it on reserve again in the subsequent terms, the request should be made 2 months before students are expected to use them since obtaining permission typically takes time.

The library staff seek permission for the particular reserve usage and maintain appropriate records. Only if permission is granted, will the reserve request be fulfilled. Lack of response from the copyright holder is interpreted as “no permission granted.”

The only way to search reserve items on the library website is by the professor’s name or course title; the library does not allow search capability by article title or author. This is to limit accessibility to registered students only.

The purpose of the library reserve services is to support teaching and scholarship. Ikeda Library purchases materials and subscribes to electronic resources for the nonprofit educational use of SUA students and faculty. All library collections are acquired with the understanding that there will be multiple uses of an item. 

Reserve items are separated from the regular library collection, and restrictive loan policy is assigned to them for the purpose of offering easier access by group of students. They are circulated to enrolled SUA students only, and usage is highly restricted. The loan period for physical reserves is typically limited to 2 to 6 hours, and the items are kept in a closed area behind the Circulation Desk.

Electronic reserves are placed in SUA’s course management system, Brightspace. The Brightspace Administrator at the IT department implement technical security measures to guard against unauthorized access to the electronic contents. Login is required to enter Brightspace and students can only view the current courses in which they are enrolled. The instructors are directed to place persistent URL links, rather than scanned documents, in Brightspace. The access to reading materials included in the course is restricted approximately four weeks after the end of the academic term.