Copyright for Instructional Materials

If you want to share readings with students, or if you want students to share more resources with each other in an online discussion board, keep in mind some simple guidelines.

Remember: it is best to always include a copyright notice from the original source and appropriate citations and attributions. 

1. It's always easiest to link!

Linking to content from Mt. SAC Library, open access repositories, or publicly available content can be one of the easiest and legal methods for access to class materials.

• Much of our subscription content will have DOIs, PURLs, or other permalink options, all of which should work even for off-campus users. 
• For assistance with any of our subscription content, contact your subject librarian. 
• As always, if there's something you think the library should own, please fill out a purchase request form.

2. Sharing copies locally

If you are sharing copyrighted material in your face-to-face class, please go through a Fair Use Checklist (links on the Fair Use page).

If you are making digital copies available for sharing on your class Canvas site, here are some additional considerations:

• Making copies of materials (by downloading and uploading files or by scanning yourself from physical documents) can present some copyright issues, but they're not different from deciding whether to share content when you are meeting in person.
• These copies should be limited to the course participants, so uploading them to Canvas fulfills this requirement.
• Where an instructor doesn't feel comfortable relying on fair use, a librarian liaison may be able to suggest alternative content.

3. Open Educational Resources

Please go to the Mt. SAC OER Guide to learn how to find materials with open licenses.