A number of librarians specializing in copyright law have been at work deciding how Copyright law and the "fair use" doctrine apply during the COVID-19 outbreak. They have released a statement that indicates that they believe that we have some leeway in what we can supply to students by way of digital copies of copyrighted material. This primarily applies to items used in instruction, like course reserves. Course reserves are items that are not circulating because they are reserved for in-library use. Since the library is closed, students are unable to access our reserves. However, this statement indicates that we are in a special "emergency situation."
The following excerpt is key:
"We also encourage campuses to begin contemplating the longer-term needs this situation presents. While fair use is absolutely appropriate to support the heightened demands presented by this emergency, if time periods extend further, campuses will need to investigate and adopt solutions tailored for the long-term."
CLICK HERE to read the full statement.
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