Electronic Resources Policy

The licensed electronic resources provided by the J. R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library are for the educational and research use of Michigan Tech students, faculty, staff and other authorized users. The use of these resources is governed by U.S. Copyright Law and by license agreements. If license terms are violated by a single user, licensors have the right to suspend access for the entire Michigan Tech community.

It is the responsibility of each user to comply with the  Michigan Tech Computer Use Policy and with the electronic resource license agreements by restricting their use to personal, noncommercial purposes, and by refraining from systematically downloading, retaining, or distributing substantial portions of any resource's content.

Authorized users may display, download, print and copy a reasonable portion of a licensed electronic resource, usually one or two articles from any particular issue of a journal. Authorized users are not permitted to modify or create a derivative work from the licensed resource; remove, obscure, or modify any copyright or other notices; or ,use the licensed resource for commercial purposes. Systematic or substantial printing, copying or downloading is strictly prohibited as is engaging in actions intended to circumvent or defeat access control mechanisms of the library or of the information provider.

Keep the following examples in mind:

DO'S AND DON'TS

USUALLY OK	USUALLY NOT OK
making limited print or electronic copies	systematic or substantial printing, copying or downloading
using for personal, instructional or research needs	selling or re-distributing content, or providing to an outside employer
sharing with MTU faculty, staff and students	sharing with people other than MTU faculty, staff and students
posting links to specific content	posting actual content or articles to web sites or listservs without permission; modifying, altering or creating derivative works

Always acknowledge your source on any published or unpublished document when you use data found in electronic resources

Some resources allow electronic reserves, course packs, multiple copies for classroom use and interlibrary lending. Others explicitly forbid one or more of these activities. If you have questions about a particular use or resource, please contact Collection Management.