- Determine the holder of the copyright. In most cases, the copyright owner is the publisher rather than the author. Useful resources for locating publisher's addresses and e-mails are listed below.
- Once the publisher's contact information has been determined, use one of the sample letters provided to request permission from the publisher. One sample letter is intended to request permission for an item to be placed on traditional reserve and the other for permission to place material on electronic reserve. Some publishers will accept a request for permission via e-mail, which may provide faster turnaround time for your request.
- Any reply from the publisher should be forwarded to the Reserve Services Librarian or Reserve Desk Supervisor so the library staff will know how to proceed. This information will be kept on file by the Libraries. Any fees associated with obtaining permission are the responsibility of the faculty member.
An alternative to contacting the publisher directly is to use the services of the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC). The Copyright Clearance Center is the largest licenser of text reproduction rights in the world. "The company currently manages rights relating to over 1.75 million works and represents more than 9,600 publishers and hundreds of thousands of authors and other creators, directly or through their representatives" (from CCC web site). Individuals may search the web site to see if the item in question is listed and set up their own account with the CCC. The CCC manages the rights to all the material included in their web site and can grant copyright permission in lieu of the publisher. This may simplify the process of tracking down and contacting the holder of the copyright.
Other sources available in paper, such as the Literary MarketPlace, may also be helpful in locating publishers. For assistance with these resources, please consult with a librarian in the Research and Instructional Support Department of the UWM Libraries.
Last updated on 2/14/2002