Copyright guidelines for course reserves are written in recognition of current guidelines, practices, statutes and judicial decisions to provide instructors and staff clear procedures that ensure adherence to the Fair Use provisions of Section 107 of the Copyright Act.
For more information, see the Portland State University Copyright Policy.
E-Reserve Service Ending
Fall 2026 will be the last term the Library offers electronic reserves. Starting Winter 2027 we will no longer scan or host any reserve PDFs or electronic reading folders. Course Reserves for print books and ebooks will continue without any changes.
To learn more about this change and find other ways to share digital course materials with your students, check out our blog post about the new federal digital accessibility standards and electronic reserves.
Copyright Compliance FAQ
Course packs can save students time if you are requiring a lot of individual readings. Downloading and printing individual articles and book chapters can be time consuming. Course packs can be put together by the Portland State University Bookstore. Once you submit your references, they will pursue copyright, establish the price, and handle the sales to the students.
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.
“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.
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.
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