Contractual license agreements and U.S. Copyright Law govern the access, use, and reproduction of these resources. In addition, the use of electronic resources must be in compliance with the campus-wide policy on “Appropriate Use of Campus Computing and Network Resources.” Users of library-licensed resources must comply with the terms of agreements and be aware that publishers may monitor the use of electronic resources to ensure that the terms of their licensing agreements are enforced. Breach of the license may lead a publisher/vendor to turn off the Library’s access without warning.

In using licensed e-resources, users must:

  • Limit uses to non-commercial, educational, or personal research purposes;
  • Not facilitate unauthorized access by others (e.g., do not share one’s account/password)

Here are some safe rules of thumb:

You may

  1. Print/download/quote limited amounts of information (with proper attribution)
  2. Email an article to another current University faculty, student, or staff (unless this practice is specifically forbidden by a publisher’s license)
  3. Create a link to a journal article on a publisher’s website from Sakai/Canvas or a departmental website.

You May Not:

  1. Engage in systematic downloading of licensed content (e.g., download all articles in a journal issue; download substantial amounts from a database to create another collection of data)
  2. Email an article to a person who is not a current University faculty, student, or staff (unless this practice is specifically allowed by a publisher’s license)
  3. Post a copy of an article to a server (e.g., Sakai, departmental website)

For more information, please consult the Library.