Reserve Collections

In accordance with fair use (Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act), reserve systems may include copyrighted materials at the request of a course instructor. These materials should be limited to single articles or chapters from individual works and access to these materials should be terminated at the end of the semester. Access to this material should be limited to enrolled students. Reserve may control access by requiring a password. It is the instructor’s responsibility to be certain all submitted materials comply with copyright and fair use guidelines. We reserve the right to refuse to place material on reserve if, in our judgment, placing the material on reserve violates copyright law.

From the US Copyright Code, Fair Use is determined by 4 factors:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work.

Section V. Library Reproduction

E. Library Reserve Services

Copying for library reserve is governed by Section 107 of the copyright law, the fair use doctrine. Requests for one semester use of multiple copies of printed materials may be complied with as long as the requesting faculty member has exercised reasonable judgment in determining the number of copies needed for his/her students to read the material. Libraries should not retain reserve copies longer than one semester.

Copying of video recordings and slides may be more problematic. The fair use doctrine may be applied differently, depending upon the media in question. This is a judgment call for the librarians who are encouraged to seek advice from the Office of the General Counsel. Articles and other material that are submitted for reserve are considered the property of the instructor and will be returned at semester-end.

Electronic Reserves

Electronic reserve material requires special consideration. See the Association of College and Research Libraries Statement on Fair Use and Electronic Reserves, as well as the ARL Know Your Copy Rights brochure, which contains a chart that lists the situations in which fair use applies to electronic reserves.

See also the ARL FAQ on Uses in the Online Classroom

WSU Policies and Procedures

Copyright Guidelines (Supplement to WSU Section 3.36)