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Responsible Use of Electronic Resources

Use of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books) is subject to copyright laws and contractual agreements (licenses).

Did you know:

• excessive or systematic downloading of articles, citations or chapters of an electronic resource (such as from an e-journal, an e-book or a database) may result in access being denied to one building on campus OR to the entire campus
• sharing electronic resources with non-authorized users is prohibited
• sharing of passwords, placing copyrighted materials on a publicly accessible website, or commercial exploitation of licensed information is strictly prohibited.

Reasonable downloading and printing reasonable portions of licensed materials is allowed and encouraged for research purposes.

Want to know more?  Read on...

What are license agreements and why does the library sign them?
The Libraries cannot provide access to most research and scholarly publications without a signed license agreement. Publishers demand these agreements to prevent unauthorized redistribution or use of their copyrighted works.  The license describes who can use the resource, how it may be used, consequences (such as legal action!) of misuse, and a lot of other legal jargon!

What is considered "excessive" downloading?
Publishers are vague on this point, but it is generally interpreted to mean 1) sequential chapters of a book; 2) more than half of an entire issue of a journal. Publishers can track violations through IP addresses. They may cut access to a particular resource or a set of resources via that IP, which may be one computer, an entire building, or the entire K-State campus. If the Libraries' does not adequately address the violation, the publisher has the right to terminate the license and permanently remove access to their resources.  

But it's on the web... it's free!!
Not necessarily! Sometimes you will see library "branding" on an electronic resource -- that is, some wording that indicates the resource is being provided to you by K-State.  However, in many instances, publishers don't have the ability to let us place our "brand" on individual titles that you may be accessing via the web. You may stumble across relevant research and not even realize that you are able to access the content because the Libraries has paid for a subscription (access) to the resource.

What do these licenses mean by "authorized users"?
The majority of license agreements define "authorized users" as currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff.

What is an electronic resource?
Electronic resources are e-journals, databases, and e-books available online via the web. You may find those licensed by the Libraries via CATnet, from library web pages or through the online catalog.

Why aren't libraries doing something about unreasonable demands from publishers and providers of databases and electronic journals?
We do! In addition to negotiating the best possible licensing terms, libraries are reaching out to faculty and university administrators to create a climate for CHANGE!

Additional questions about the appropriate use of licensed information resources may be directed to

See also KSU's IT Policies and the K-State Intellectual Property Information Center (for information on Fair Use, Copyright basics, etc.)