This page has basic guidelines to help faculty understand methods and rules for sharing course materials with students. It is not intended as a comprehensive overview of copyright and fair use. To learn more, the Stanford University Fair Use Center is an excellent resource, and these guidelines from Yale University can help you evaluate whether fair use applies to a specific instance.
As you work through how you will make readings available keep in mind that you should comply with accessibility rules.SensusAccess will convert many file types to a more accessible format. It can also be used to make print more accessible after a print copy is scanned. Scanners are available on the A Level of LITC to convert print to a digital format.
If you have questions after reading this information or need any help, contact your department liaison, write to ISHelp@trincoll.edu or call 860-297-2007.
Below are basic guidelines on acceptable ways to share material for a class. The guidelines are for copyrighted material. If material is not protected by copyright (for example, U.S. publication before 1923) these guidelines do not apply and you have more options for sharing material. This chart from the Cornell Copyright Information Center summarizes what US works are in the public domain.
| Material | Place at Reserves Desk | Link in Moodle | Save File on Moodle | Distribute in Class via Print Out/Photocopy | Course Pack | Use Excerpt / Clip in Powerpoint | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book in print (entire) | Yes | NA | No | No | No | Yes |
If you need print copies of an out-of-print book for students the library may be able to help using a vendor, Lightning Press.
|
| Book chapter from print book (one chapter or less than 10% of book) | Yes | NA | Yes (scan a copy) | Yes | Permission required | Yes | |
| Ebook (library-licensed such as JSTOR, Project Muse, Springer) | NA | Yes | No | No (not entire book, individual chapters okay) | Permission required | Yes |
Library licenses often forbid saving a file and sharing online, and forbid course pack inclusion. Link only to original (see instructions for how to create a lasting link less likely to break). In the OneSearch record for the ebook, click on "SHOW LICENSE" next to the availability information to see license details. Springer offers print versions of many of its ebooks to students for $39.99. |
| Journal article in print (one article from one issue) | Yes | NA | Yes (scan a copy) | Yes | Permission required | Yes | |
| Ejournal article (library-licensed) | NA | Yes | No | Yes | Permission required | Yes | Library licenses often forbid saving a file and sharing online and forbid course pack inclusion. Link only to original (see instructions for how to create a lasting link less likely to break). In the OneSearch record for a journal article, click on "SHOW LICENSE" next to the availability information to see license details. |
| DVD | Yes | NA | No | NA | NA | Yes | |
| Streaming Video (Kanopy, Swank, Films on Demand) | NA | Yes | No | NA | NA | Yes | Library licenses often forbid saving a file and sharing online. Link only to original (see instructions for how to create a lasting link less likely to break). |
| Student work | In all cases use only with permission from the student. | ||||||
| Simple data chart, table | NA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Infographic | NA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes with permission | Yes | For a discussion of how a traditional chart and more creative infographics are treated for copyright see Copyrightability of Tables, Charts and Graphs |
| Image, digitized | NA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Permission required | Yes | Staff are available to digitize material. Contact Amanda Matava for more information. |
| Music Clip | NA | Yes | NA | NA | NA | Yes |
Forms are available for