Copyright Guidelines:
Reserve and Electronic Reserve

I. GENERAL STATEMENT

The UWM Libraries support and act in accordance with the fair use provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, Section 107, which permits the making of copies for classroom use if the four determining factors are considered and found to be in support of fair use. The Fair Use analysis is applied on a case by case basis in each and every instance of copying. Those factors to be considered in determining if the copying is fair use are:

  1. The purpose and character of the use (education is more likely to be fair use: and use that causes the work to be used for a new purpose is more likely to be fair use)
  2. The nature of the copyrighted work (a fact-based work is more likely to be fair use than a creative fictional work)
  3. The amount and substantiality of the copied portion compared to the work as a whole (a small portion and/or not copying the "best" portion(s) of the work is more likely to be fair use)
  4. The effect of the use on the potential market (copying that does not cause someone to not buy the whole work is more likely to be fair use).

The Libraries have also adopted a number of guidelines for Electronic Reserve which were included in the Fair Use Guidelines for Electronic Reserve Systems, developed by participants in the Conference on Fair Use (CONFU). The Libraries stay abreast of developments with regards to digital copyright laws and guidelines and modify their copyright guidelines for Reserve and Electronic Reserve as needed.

Resources for Copyright Information links to important sites which provide current copyright information.

II. PLACING MATERIAL ON RESERVE OR ELECTRONIC
RESERVE – GENERAL GUIDELINES

  1. Material shall be placed on either reserve or electronic reserve at the initiative of the faculty or staff at UWM solely for the non-commercial, educational use of UWM students.
  2. The Libraries will follow the principles of Fair Use when determining if copies should be placed on reserve or electronic reserve.
  3. A copyright notice will appear on the first page of any scanned document available via electronic reserve. A copyright notice will be stamped on the first page of each document on reserve. In addition, a copyright notice is affixed to each printer and copy machine located in the Libraries reserve room. Freestanding copyright notice signs are also located on the Reserve Service Desk.
  4. Materials on reserve and electronic reserve are available only to current UWM students.
  5. Materials on reserve and electronic reserve are accessible only by faculty name, course number or department. Subject, title or author searches for individual items are not possible.
  6. Students are not charged a fee to access reserve or electronic reserve items. The charge for copies made by students on library printers will be the same as for all other library printing.
  7. Material made available for student use through reserve or electronic reserve will be removed when it is no longer needed.
  8. Longer works, such as complete books, will not be copied for electronic reserve, even if the works are in the public domain or otherwise within the scope of the fair use guidelines.
  9. Multiple copies of the same item will not be placed on Reserve unless the class size is large and additional copies are warranted.
  10. Coursepacks will not be placed on Reserve. In addition, faculty cannot in effect create a coursepack by placing several articles together on reserve under one title. Individual citations must be provided for each item.

III. GUIDELINES FOR FAIR USE COPYING OR SCANNING

The library staff may do Fair Use copying or scanning for reserve or electronic reserve.  In general, the staff will use the following guidelines:

  1. Only one journal or newspaper article from each issue may be used
  2. Only 15% or less of a book may be used
  3. Only one chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture per book or journal issue may be used when the entire article or chapter is not used.

Library staff, however, reserve the right to refuse to copy or scan if they believe that such actions do not qualify as Fair Use.

IV. COPYING OR SCANNING BEYOND FAIR USE GUIDELINES

If a faculty member needs material copied or scanned for reserve or electronic reserve that, in the library staff member's judgment, exceeds the bounds of the Fair Use Guidelines, then copyright permission must be secured. To complete that process:

  1. The faculty member must contact the owner of the copyrighted material to request permission. Please see How to Request Copyright Permission for complete information and a sample letter that may be used.
  2. While copyright permission is being requested, the Libraries will temporarily make the material available, pending permission from the copyright owner.
  3. Any fees or charges associated with obtaining copyright permission are the responsibility of the faculty member.
  4. Once the faculty member has received permission to have the material copied or scanned, evidence of that permission must be forwarded to the Reserve Services Librarian or the Reserve Desk Supervisor. An e-mail from the copyright holder granting permission is acceptable. Evidence of copyright permission and payment (when applicable) shall be retained by the Libraries.
  5. The library staff will comply with the permission parameters that are specified by the copyright holder.

Last updated Nov 2002

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