Faculty Guide to Online Library Resources

Faculty, students, and librarians across the country are in the midst of figuring out how to keep teaching and learning in unprecedented circumstances. Among the many challenges posed by the transition to online instruction is that of student access to course materials. This challenge has technological (questions of format, internet connectivity, accessibility), economic (questions of student cost, especially in a time of staggering unemployment), ethical (also accessibility and student cost), and legal (copyright and fair use) dimensions.

While not lawyers - and therefore not able to give legal advice - your NMC librarians can offer guidance and connect you to resources as you navigate these uncharted waters and make choices about your use of course materials.

Copyright librarians and fair use advocates have argued that the fair use doctrine offers relevant protections during a crisis like the one we are facing (see the joint public statement below).

A few important considerations as you make decisions in the realm of copyright and fair use:

• Users - when electing to provide access to copyright-bearing materials for educational purposes, what steps can you take to appropriately restrict the users who receive that access?
• Time - what is the appropriate length of time for the materials to be accessible for your educational purpose? (A week, a month, a semester?)
• Extent/Amount - what is the appropriate extent or amount of a work to make accessible to achieve your pedagogical aim? Fair use experts generally advocate excerpting wherever possible.
• Market Impact - what is the impact of your use on the market for the work? Have you checked with the library to see if there is an ebook license available?

​Again, librarians cannot offer legal advice, but these questions can help you think through issues related to fair use and copyright when it comes to providing access to educational materials.