Note: The source for the following information is The Copyright Primer for Librarians and Educators, by Mary Hutching Reed. A copy has been placed on reserve at the Circulation Desk at Zuhl Library.

An instructor may reproduce an entire article from a scholarly journal for reserve use. Publishers' guidelines for educators allow photocopying without the publisher's prior permission if certain standards of brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect are met. Therefore, the instructor should not repeatedly photocopy and place on reserve excerpts from one periodical or book without the permission of the copyright owner.

Placing multiple copies on reserve will be considered "fair use" only if the following factors have been taken into account:

1. The amount of material should be reasonable in relation to the total amount of material assigned for one term of a course, taking into account the nature of the course, and the subject matter and level.
{17 USC 107 (1) and (3)}

2. The number of copies should be reasonable in light of the number of students enrolled, the difficulty and timing of assignments, and the number of instructors who may assign the same material.

3. A reasonable number of copies will be, in most instances, not more than five. However,
factors such as length and difficulty of the assignment, the number of enrolled students, and the length of time allowed for completion of the assignment may permit more than five in unusual circumstances. In addition, a faculty member may also request that multiple copies of copyrighted material be placed on the reserve shelf if there is insufficient time to obtain permission from the copyright owner.

4 . The effect of photocopying the material should not be detrimental to the market for the work.
In general, the library should own at least one copy of the work. {17 USC 107 (4)}

5. The students are not assessed any fee beyond the actual cost of the photocopying.
{17 USC 107 (1)}

The material should contain notice of copyright. {17 USC 401} All copied materials which are accepted for reserve in the NMSU Library will be stamped with this message:

NOTICE: This material may be protected by copyright law (TITLE 17 U.S. CODE)

A copy of the USC (United States Code) is available in the Zuhl Library reference collection,
(REF) KF62 1988 Asl989
 

Return to Reserves Guidelines & Instructions.

Send comments to: reserves@lib.nmsu.edu