The Claremont Colleges Library respects the fair use rights of instructors who assign excerpts from library materials, and library best practices recognize the importance of fair use to teaching.
As is explained in the Public Statement of Library Copyright Specialists: Fair Use & Emergency Remote Teaching & Research, fair use permits more extensive scanning as part of a legitimate response to a public health emergency, as the one we are currently facing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
During this move to remote teaching and learning, the Library will not scan materials if there is an available electronic copy. Instead, we will endeavor to acquire access to the e-content.
We ask the following of each instructor before submitting a request to scan course materials:
- Limit your requests to the portions of a given work that are needed for full participation in the course for the duration of your students’ dislocation.
- Scans made during this time will include a special cover page with information for students about how to use and dispose of the scan; please include the cover page when you share the scan with your students.
- Please only distribute these scans to students using Sakai or Canvas (or any other system that requires students to login, i.e. Box, or Google Drive) to ensure that access is limited to those enrolled in the course.
Requests for scans of print books can be submitted through the Resource Sharing “book chapter” request form. Please keep in mind that we have limited library staff on site in the library to provide these scans of print materials. We will do our best to fulfill your requests in a timely manner.
If you are able to scan course materials yourself and share it with your class through Sakai or Canvas, we encourage that (Teach Act Section 108). For more information see Can Copyrighted Material be Used For Online Teaching FAQ. Ultimately, as the instructor for the course, you are in the best position to decide whether your particular use of copyright materials is fair and reasonable.
Lastly, please be advised that Subject Librarians are available to suggest alternative content that may be available online through library subscriptions or accessible via openly accessible resources or the public domain.
Visit our Library Guide to learn more about Copyright & Fair Use for Educators.