Copyright and Reserve materials

The Newman Library Circulation/Reserve unit deals with copyright on a daily basis. Below is a summary of how the copyright law pertains to placing copyrighted material on reserve. For even more information on copyright, please see the Library's Copyright webpage.

Books (library-owned or personal copies) and Photocopied journal articles or book chapters | Media Materials (library owned or personal copies)

Books (library-owned or personal copies) and Photocopied articles or chapters

The guidelines described below apply to all University Libraries' Reserve systems and are in compliance with US Code, Title 17. Material submitted which violates any of these regulations will NOT knowingly be made available by the library. Instructors will be notified upon discovery of copyright violations and will result in delayed access to class materials through University Libraries. Instructors should not place materials on Reserve unless the instructor, the library, or another unit of the university possesses a lawfully obtained copy. The total amount of material on Reserve for a class should be a small proportion of the total assigned reading for that class when invoking fair use. Materials are available only to the VPI & SU community and all are expected to adhere to these copyright and fair use guidelines.

Guidelines Summary

• Books: only one (1) chapter from a book may be placed on reserve unless the instructor received the copyright holder's written permission prior to submitting materials to Reserve. This applies to edited collections of readings and essays because each reading is considered a chapter.
Journals and Newspapers: only one (1) article from an issue of one journal may be placed on Reserve unless the instructor received the copyright holder's written permission prior to submitting materials to reserve. Newspapers are treated the same as journals. Multiple Copies: Only one (1) copy of photocopied material is allowed for every 20 students enrolled in a class or any fraction thereof, with a maximum of 10 copies. The photocopy should contain the copyright statement.
• US Government Publications: Most government publications are in the public domain, i.e., they are not copyrighted, allowing unlimited use and reproduction.
• Consumables: These materials are not appropriate for reserve because one of the tenets of fair use is that such use not effect the market value. Consumables include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets, answer sheets, etc. Consumables will not be placed on reserve.
• Coursepacks: Custom published anthologies prepared for sale through local copy centers and bookstores are not appropriate for reserve because on of the tenets of fair use is that such use not effect the market value. Coursepacks will not be placed on reserve.
• Duration and display of copyright: When faculty submit copyrighted material to reserve they should preserve the author's name, title of the work, and copyright statement, if there is one. If any photocopied material is to remain on reserve for more than one semester, the faculty member must obtain the copyright holders' written permission.

Media Materials (library-owned or personal copies)

A balance must exist between the rights of the producers and distributors of the works which we collect and disseminate and the privileges of ourselves and our patrons who benefit from their display. We understand that if the owners of audiovisual works are denied their legal right to actual and potential revenues that may be derived from their works, the net effect will be a decline in the production of audiovisual materials, and we consider infractions of copyright law to be equivalent to acts of theft.

• Off-air recordings that departments own and have been retained longer than the 45 days free-use period are considered illegal.
• The Library can not put illegal off-air recordings on reserve.
• The Library can not make duplicate copies of illegal off-air recordings.
• The Library can not alter off-air programs. Excerpts of programs can be used in class provided the recorded program is not altered from its original content.
• The Library can not duplicate copyrighted tapes.
• Some library-owned videocassettes have public performance rights; many, however, do not. Those that are labeled "For home use only" may be used in a face-to-face teaching situation.
• Groups or clubs may not use "For home use only" videos in a public performance setting. They must rent the videos from sources that grant public performance rights.
• Off-air recordings may be used once by individual instructors in the course of relevant teaching activities, and repeated only once when instructional reinforcement is necessary, in classrooms and similar places devoted to instruction within a single building, cluster or campus, as well as in the homes of students receiving formalized home instruction, during the first 10 consecutive school days in the 45 calendar day retention period only for instructor-evaluator purposes, i.e., to determine whether or not to include broadcast program in the teaching curriculum, and may not be used in the institution for student exhibition or any other non-evaluative purpose without authorization.

Title 17 of the U. S. Code addresses copyright issues, including Fair Use for Educational Purposes.

By submitting a Reserve Request, users of the University Libraries' Reserve System agree that:

• Materials submitted to Reserve do not violate the U.S. copyright laws.
• University Libraries will not replace lost or damaged personal copies.
• Materials are submitted to Reserve only for the semester(s) in which the class is taught.