Copyright and Terms of Use

The USF Libraries offers a variety of informational resources through its website. The users of this site may use library content for research and education within the bounds of U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). All patrons making use of library content are individually accountable for their responsible and legal use of copyrighted material.

Materials for which the USF Libraries has contracted access to are governed by the terms and conditions of the database/collection or the contract.  See the Library Resources User Terms page for more information on what users may and may not do with electronic resources licensed by the USF Libraries.

Any public domain material embedded in this site may be used without permission.

We welcome links to our sites. Please feel free to establish a hypertext link to any USF Libraries web page as long as you do not state or imply sponsorship of your site by USF or USF Libraries.

Library Services and Copyright Resources

Copyright information provided on the USF Libraries website is intended for education and reference use only; they do not constitute legal advice, nor are they intended to replace the advice of USF General Counsel.

Library activities adhere to copyright law and other applicable intellectual property laws.

The creators and contributors behind the content on the USF Libraries website have made every effort to secure permissions from the copyright owner for the use of materials protected by copyright or have a good faith belief that the material is in the public domain or covered by an exception that allows libraries to post the material online. If you discover material in our pages that you believe to be infringing on your copyrights, please contact USF’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Agent.

Institutional Repository

For works posted in Digital Commons @ USF that display a Creative Commons license in their record and/or on the work itself, the use of that work is governed by the terms of the license selected by the content creator.  Works that do not display a CC license are protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) and provided for educational purposes. Digital Commons Rights Information:  http://digitalcommons.usf.edu/rights.html

Dissertations

Students submitting Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) give USF license to archive and make their ETD accessible in the institutional repository.  Copyright over the electronic thesis or dissertation remains with the student author. All individuals making use of USF theses and dissertations materials are individually accountable for their responsible and legal use of copyrighted material.

The USF Libraries maintains the university institutional repository, Digital Commons @ USF, which hosts the final version of all ETDs by USF graduate, and doctoral students.

Theses and dissertations created before the electronic submission process was adopted at USF may be digitized on request provided the library can obtain permission from the copyright owner to add the material to the USF Libraries’ digital collections.

Digital Collections

The USF Libraries Digital Collections (https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/digital_collection/) provides access to digitized versions of materials for private study, scholarship, and research in accordance with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.).  Materials in Digital Collections can be in the public domain, digitized with permissions from the copyright owner, or digitized in accordance with exceptions to copyright law for libraries (Title 17, §108 U.S.C.).

Whenever possible, accurate information on the rights status, reuse restrictions, and ownership of the materials is provided via the rights statements in the item record.  While some materials are included in our digital collections with Creative Commons licenses, most will include a statement developed by rightsstatements.org.

If reproducing material from Digital Collections we request that you cite the source as follows:  [Item], Digital Collections, Tampa Library, University of South Florida. [URL]

Narratives of Formerly Enslaved Floridians

Materials in the Narratives of Formerly Enslaved Floridians collection (https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/formerly_enslaved_narratives/) were created by the Federal Writers’ Project of the Work Projects Administration for the State of Florida. Generally, works created by U.S. Government employees are not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. However, privacy and publicity rights may apply as the interviewees whose words were transcribed were often not employees of the U.S. Government.

Oral History Collections

Materials in our digital Oral History collections are the products of research projects by several individuals. USF Libraries assume no responsibility for the views expressed by interviewers or interviewees. Some interviews include material that may be viewed as offensive or objectionable. Parents of minors are encouraged to supervise use of USF Libraries Oral Histories and Digital Collections.

USF Libraries provides access to digitized Oral History for private study, scholarship, and research. Copyright over Oral Histories hosted by the USF Libraries rests with the interviewee unless transferred to the interviewer in the course of the project. Interviewee views and information may also be protected by privacy and publicity laws.

Archival Materials

Special Collections may provide photocopies or other reproductions for private study, scholarship, and research in accordance with exceptions to copyright law for libraries (Title 17, §108 U.S.C.). Special Collections staff cannot offer legal guidance or assistance in obtaining permission to publish copyrighted material.

If reproducing material from Special Collections we request that you cite the source as follows: [author], [Item], [box #], [collection], Special Collections, Tampa Library, University of South Florida.

 

Privacy

Protecting our patrons’ personal information is important to us. The USF Libraries adhere to the University of South Florida Online/Internet Privacy Statement and the American Library Association’s Privacy Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. Personal information obtained by the Libraries in the course of providing services will not be disclosed to parties outside the University of South Florida without your permission, unless such disclosure is required by law, court order, or applicable University of South Florida policy or regulation.

Building

The USF Libraries use security cameras in designated public areas and access points to help protect the safety and security of students, faculty, staff, and visitors while respecting privacy and confidentiality. Cameras are not continuously monitored, and footage may be accessed only by authorized personnel for security, maintenance, or investigation purposes. Footage is retained for 30 days unless needed for an active investigation and is released only to authorized USF personnel or outside the University of South Florida when required by law, court order, or applicable university policy or regulation. Cameras are not installed in areas where privacy is expected, such as bathrooms, private offices, or study rooms, and footage is not used to monitor or identify an individual’s reading, viewing, research, or listening activities.

Website

  • Personal information regarding your use of the library website is collected only when you voluntarily provide it directly to the USF Libraries, and then only for its intended purpose
  • Domain and IP information are collected to facilitate improvements on web services and do not include personally identifiable information
  • USF Libraries website uses Google Analytics (Google Analytics Security and Privacy Principles)

Services

  • Library services may employ systems that get updates on current students, staff, and faculty from other university departments, access to this information is restricted to library staff for service purposes only
  • Records of checkouts and transactions are routinely purged
  • Personal information is disclosed to contractors or associates only to carry out your requests

Databases

USF Libraries has subscription agreements with a number of journal, book, and information database providers. The library does not control the information gathered by the providers when accessing their content:

  • Domain and IP information may be collected by electronic resource databases; handling of this information is governed by the terms and conditions of individual electronic resource databases
  • Electronic resource databases may collect private and identifying information from your personal user accounts with those databases; use of this information should be addressed in the privacy policies or terms and conditions of those individual electronic resource databases