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Circulation Department

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Scanning Policy for Electronic Reserves

The mission of the Library is to provide all faculty, students and staff access to the various book collections and electronic resources housed or maintained in the library. Use of electronic reserve materials is restricted to students currently enrolled in a class who’s instructor requested the access of his information through electronic means.

The copyright law (Title 17, United States Code) sets strict limits on making copies of copyrighted works. Exceeding these limits may subject the individual to liability for infringement with damages up to $100,000 per work. 

The Library reserves the right to refuse either to accept a copy request that would involve a violation of copyright law or to make available through course reserve materials that might have been duplicated in violation of copyright law. The library can make no more than five copies of an article or portion of a book in accordance with “fair use” guidelines as outlined in Section 107 of US Copyright Law.

Section 107 Fair Use:

For institutions of higher education, the cardinal portion of the Copyright Act is Section 107 of the Copyright Act, the fair use provision. This section sets forth the factors that must be evaluated in determining whether a particular use, without prior permission, is a fair and, therefore, permitted use. The legitimate and lawful application of fair use rights provides the necessary and constitutionally envisioned balance between the rights of the copyright holder versus societal and educational interests in the dissemination of information.

Section 107 is as follows:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified in that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. The nature of the copyrighted work;
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Electronic Reserves is an extension of traditional library services and will be provided in a manner that respects fair use rights, the right of copyright holders, and current copyright law.  The electronic copying and scanning of copyright protected works for library reserve service and distance learning are unsettled areas of the law which may be addressed by courts and/or legislation. The UTEP library will continually monitor legal developments that may affect the fair use analysis of Electronic Reserves to ensure that library services are in compliance with the letter and spirit of the U.S. copyright law.

Prepared by Antonio Rodarte, November 2000