The EdLib Report

Faculty frequently ask if sharing a scan of a chapter or article via Canvas is an acceptable use of copyrighted material. USF Policy (0-105) states that all faculty, staff, and students are responsible for their appropriate use of copyrighted materials, and provides a few guidelines to make it easy for faculty to evaluate their use of materials. It reminds us that a copy must only represent a small amount of the original work, that faculty should consider the four part fair use test if providing course readings under the fair use provision, copying should not be a substitution for the purchase of a book, should not include workbooks or test booklets, should include a copyright notice, and it recommends obtaining permissions if a reading is to be used over multiple semesters. As examples of what constitutes a small amount it elaborates: “a single chapter of a book, an article, or a few photos from a larger collection.” The USF Libraries’ Course Reserves service uses a system that automatically checks the length of requested readings for amounts in excess of one chapter/article or ten percent of a total work.