Ebooks and other library materials are discoverable in your library catalog and potentially usable in your classroom as an alternative to a traditional textbook. Even more options exist, such as content found on the open web, which might be subject to traditional copyright (i.e., not Creative Commons licensed). This page will identify options to make these non-open resources available to your students.
Using library materials and other non-open resources as course materials might be complicated to navigate, but can be made simple if you rely on a few best practices:
This infographic illustrates the best practices for use of copyrighted materials in a course. A long description of the infographic is available at https://palni.org/palsave/best-practices-description.
Can I Use it in My Canvas Course? by Manchester University. Used with permission.
American University Library (2010). What Faculty Need to Know About Copyright for Teaching.
Benson, Sara (2017).
California State University, Chico (2019). Using Copyrighted Works in the Classroom.
Manchester University (2019). Copyright for Faculty.
Consider this diagram when locating materials for your course. It shows the spectrum of copyright restrictions for materials you can potentially use in your course. As you move around the circle from the top, the content moves from least restrictive to most. A long description of the diagram is available at https://palni.org/palsave/copyright-restrictions-description.
Spectrum of Open by Rebel Cummings-Sauls. Used with permission.
For the rest of the spectrum, the rules of "open" (the 5 Rs) do not apply.
If a resource is neither open or available to all your students via the library, fair use and seeking permission are two ways you might make content available.
Fair Use
Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Reliance on fair use is not an advisable strategy to provide long-term and continued access to course materials, but it could be one way to provide content. Here are some resources for Fair Use.
Seeking Permission
A better option is to seek permission from the copyright holder to provide the resource to your students. Here are some resources for Seeking Permission.
Finding owners and getting permission