Course Reserves

Course Reserves is intended for use by the students, faculty and staff of Dominican University of California.  The Library DOES NOT obtain copyright permission for items placed on reserves. Books and course packets will not be scanned. Materials not requiring copyright permission include: exams, syllabie, and lecture notes/tapes or other materials authored by the instructor or material for which the author owns the copyright. Materials requiring copyright permission are multiple chapters from a single book or multiple articles from a single journal or magazine.

Course Reserves follows copyright guidelines for the United States and adheres to this statute by relying on the "fair use provisions" of the copyright code (Title 17 US Code Section 108) which governs making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.

One provision of the copyright law as it applies to libraries specifies that a photocopy or reproduction is not to be used for "any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may later be liable for copyright infringement. Course Reserves procedures at Dominican University of California for materials protected by copyright rely on the fair use condition section of the Copyright Act of 1976. Section 107 of the Copyright Act identifies four factors in determining fair use:

• The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or if for non-profit educational purposes.
• The nature of the copyrighted work.
• The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.
• The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Portland State University has a nice a flow chart which shows how to decide if an article or book chapter is "fair use" and additional information for other types of materials that you may want to place on Reserve.