Copyright Policy and Resource Guide Reserve and Interlibrary Loan Services

How much material may I place on reserve?

Library reserve services function as classroom adjuncts. Therefore, "Guidelines for Multiple Copies for Classroom Use" are relevant here. In addition, there are some useful guidelines specific to the library reserve context:

How many photocopied items are permitted on reserve for a course?

A) How many items from one source? The amount of material should be reasonable in relation to the size of the source. Ordinarily, two chapters from a book or two articles from a periodical would be considered reasonable. Greater proportions of copyright-protected sources will be accepted for reserve only with written permission from the copyright owner or indication of royalty payment.

B) How many items altogether? There are several relevant considerations, including the four factors which determine fair use; the "Guidelines for Multiple Copies for Classroom Use"; and recent judicial history. Still, the quantitative threshold for exceeding fair use is problematic. Err on the side of caution and seek timely permission when the quantity of material you wish to use is questionable under fair use standards or the classroom guidelines.

Copies on Reserve must be marked: NOTICE: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)

Special restrictions apply to music Reserves. See sections on sound recordings and photocopying music.

The photocopies are considered to be the copier's property. Although copyright law prohibits libraries from systematic copying to enhance their collections, an instructor may provide duplicate photocopies (three at most) when a course is large enough to require more than one of an assigned photocopy. If the Library or the instructor does not own an original, the instructor must provide written permission or indication of royalty payment for photocopies in excess of one.

Photocopies Obtained Through Interlibrary Loan

Section 108(d) of the Copyright Law of 1976 specifies that a library may copy "no more than one article or other contribution to a copyrighted collection or periodical issue, or to . . . a small part of any other copyrighted work." The copy must become the property of the requestor, and its use is limited to "private study, scholarship, or research."

Interlibrary Loan activities are further restricted in the aggregate by The National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU). The commission was created in 1976 to develop guidelines to assist librarians and copyright proprietors in understanding the amount of photocopying for use in interlibrary loan arrangements permitted under the copyright law. These guidelines cap the amount of photocopying the Inter Library Loan office can request for the College community in any calendar year. The thrust of the "Guidelines" is to quantify the maximum number of photocopied articles-five-that can be requested from the most recent five years of a periodical the library does not subscribe to. Individuals requesting copies in excess of the CONTU allowance may be asked to pay a royalty or the fee necessary to obtain such copies commercially.