Faculty Resources: e-Reserves

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a request if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Using e-Reserves

Faculty Guidelines for Using e-Reserves

1.    Course developers may request that an item be placed on e-reserve for a given course.
2.    The total amount placed on e-reserve should be a small portion of the total assigned reading or study materials for the course.
3.    While U.S. copyright law does not allow for a “bright line” indicating how much of a given item can be placed on e-reserve, the library accepts no more than 15% of a book’s content and no more than two articles from a single issue of a journal or magazine per course. Please try to use the smallest amount of content that will meet the educational need in each case.
4.    E-reserves must be derived from a legally-obtained copy of the source item.

Determining if a Use is Permitted Under U.S. Copyright Law

First, please consult with your instructional designer and/or librarian about resources available through Park’s existing licensing agreements or via open access.

If we are not able to provide access to a needed chapter or article, this may be an appropriate time to use e-reserves.

1. The course developer should determine if the intended use falls under Fair Use as described in Section 107 of U.S. copyright law and interpreted by the United States judicial system. Please use the Fair Use Checklist or the Fair Use Evaluator when evaluating the intended use.
2. In some cases, the rightsholder may grant permission to use the item in your course. Permission must be in writing and must submitted to the library along with the e-reserve request.
3. If the proposed use would exceed fair use, the library may be able to assist faculty members in obtaining licensing or permission. Any licensing fees must be paid by the department. Such fees typically must be paid each semester that the content is in use.

While librarians and instructional designers may be able to help you work through the fair use evaluation, they cannot and do not provide legal advice.

How to Place an Item on e-Reserve

1. Scans of book sections must include a copy of the book title page and the original copyright notice if it exists.
2. Scans of journal articles will include a full citation and copyright notice. Library staff can assist with copying and scanning upon request and will help with copyright notices as needed.
3. Please fill out the e-reserve form for each e-reserve request.
4. The library will provide you or the instructor with a secure, stable link and a password. Both of these should be posted in the Canvas shell only. This provides secure and easy access for enrolled students.
5. E-Reserves are for the personal use of students and instructors enrolled in or teaching the course during the active term only. Instructors who need access prior to the beginning of term to prepare for the course should contact the library.

Library Policies

• The library will make use of Sections 107 and 108 of U.S. copyright law in preparing items and placing them on e-reserves.
• Library faculty or staff will search the library’s collections and open access content for a copy that can be linked to your course shell. If such a copy exists, they will provide you with a stable link to the licensed version.
• For book chapters, if a multi-user ebook can be purchased for a reasonable cost and the library has funds for such a purchase, we will add the ebook to our collection and provide you with a stable link for your Canvas shell.
• When no multi-user ebook can be obtained and a portion of that book is placed on e-reserves, we will attempt to purchase a hard copy for inclusion in our collections.
• Requests for journal articles will be monitored to determine if the library needs to add a journal subscription to its holdings.
• e-Reserve passwords will expire at the end of each term, and a new password will be issued to the course instructor(s) at the beginning of the following term.