I have a question
about the fair-use guidelines for electronic reserves developed during the CONFU
process in 1996.
One of the
guidelines, under Scope of Material, states that "the total amount of material
included in electronic reserve systems for a specific course as a matter of
fair use should be a small proportion of the total assigned reading for a
particular course."
I would be
interested in learning your interpretation(s) of
this guideline.
How are you
interpreting "small proportion." Are you using a certain
percentage?
If "small
proportion" is considered, for example, less than 50%, is it less than 50% of
the total number of readings or the total number of pages or does it matter as
long as we are consistent?
And are you
counting textbooks the students are required
to purchase as assigned readings?
Two
examples:
How many articles
can be placed on reserve:
- if the instructor
is requiring a course pack of 20 articles and one
textbook?
- if the
instructor is requiring two textbooks?
Thank you for your
help.
Linda Neely
Central Michigan University
Off-Campus Library Services
Mt. Pleasant, MI
48859