• Home > Library & Computing > Collections and Borrowing > Reserves > Copyright Information

Copyright Information

The Bertrand Library at Bucknell University believes that the fair use provisions of the United States Copyright Act of 1976 (Section 107) make allowances for making multiple copies of material for classroom use. These guidelines of fair use read:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified in that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include--

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The primary purpose of all materials that are used within the reserves system at Bertrand Library, print or electronic, is nonprofit educational use by students and faculty. Electronic reserves are not treated differently from print reserves in that both methods of distribution merely serve to make course readings available to students. In all instances, the fair use guidelines will be used as a basis for a decision as to whether an item may be placed on reserves and a good faith judgment will be made on a case-by-case basis.

In order to ensure that this system of distribution stays within the scope of the fair use guidelines, Bertrand Library will follow certain steps:

1. Material submitted for reserves must have citation information attached and this information will be connected with each item in order to credit the source of the material.
2. Workbooks and other consumable material that is intended for purchase and use by individual students will not be placed on reserve.
3. Packets of material with general titles, such as "Readings on Racism" or "Works by Bronte," will not be placed on reserve. Only individual articles or chapters with specific sources will be made available to students.
4. Electronic reserve courses will be password protected in order to limit access to materials to students enrolled in a given course.
5. There will be no charge for printing (other than photocopying charges in public copiers) or access to materials on reserve.
6. Material on paper reserve will be stamped with the official copyright notice and users will not be able to access material on electronic reserve until they have accepted the copyright agreement.
7. Photocopies or scans of complete works will not be placed on reserve unless all avenues for purchasing the material have been exhausted and/or specific permission has been granted by the publisher. In most cases, the amount of material placed on reserve will be limited to something in the range of 10-15% of the source.
8. Material will be removed from public view or taken off reserve entirely at the close of the semester.

The arena of copyright and library reserve systems is one that is regularly visited but seldom settled. Bertrand Library staff will strive to stay abreast of the decisions that are made that concern copyright and reserves and will make changes in policies and procedures as these changes might become necessary over time.

NOTICE: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)
AGREEMENT: Please be advised that to use electronic material in ERes, you must agree to the following by clicking the Accept button:

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.