Course Reserves Copyright Guidelines

PSU Library books and videos and your personal materials, such as textbooks, can be placed on reserve. Journal articles, book chapters, course syllabi, and sample exams are all acceptable for e-reserve.

If instructors are using examples of student-created works, written permission from the student is required:
Student-created Materials Release/Request Form

Not allowed:

• Books and videos borrowed via Summit or Interlibrary Loan
• Non-commercial (copied) DVDs, CDs, or videotapes
• Content from Harvard Business Review

Email Us if you would like to place more than one article from a journal issue or more than one book chapter (more than 10% of a book)  on e-reserve; we’ll do our best within the bounds of fair use to fill your request. 

“Fair use” is a set of guidelines, not the law, and therefore the Library cannot tell instructors with 100% certainty what qualifies as fair use. It’s also important to note that when the PSU Library licenses content for access by PSU faculty, students, and staff, the subscription contract supersedes the fair use guidelines. The Library links to e-books or articles through our subscriptions whenever possible. 

Instructors need to be aware of University Copyright Policy when uploading files to Canvas.

The benefit of working with the Course Reserves department at the Library is that we offer copyright screening, pursue copyright (if needed), provide high-quality scans, and ensure that e-reserves are ADA accessible.

In the case of journal articles in our electronic collections, providing a link allows librarians to keep accurate usage statistics and make informed decisions about database retention.