One big problem for faculty can be interlibrary loans. Fair use does not allow professors to place articles they receive on interlibrary loans into digital course reserves. Since it is covered by copyright, you must receive permission first. While that seems unfair, that is the law.
There is an unwritten belief that professors can put any articles you download from Interlibrary Loan (ILL) into digital course reserves as long as they are needed. This is not true! Articles received on ILL are copyrighted and you must receive permission first before doing so as they must pass the Fair Use Test. Another critical point it articles may not be put on digital reserves in perpetuity. The four factors judges consider are:
Professors have difficulty with the third bullet as stated above.
SOLUTION: Use the library's databases and find the Permalink (permanent URL to an article on a database site) and paste that into your course readings instead. These can be used in perpetuity as long as the library subscribes to the database. Also, any Open Access articles can certainly be used in perpetuity and we encourage it! If you have any questions or problems, the HCU librarians can help you find the solutions you need! Please let us know how we can help!
