Table of Contents programs-TOCs and requested articles
- September 10, 2004 @ 2:47pmlibkitty says:Hi~
I have a question about how copyright relates to Table of Contents programs. Assume a program where:
1) a library sends out table of contents from journals to which it subscribes to its own agency patrons (not to the public at large),
2) patrons circle the articles that they want, and these are copied and provided by the library.
Are either of these actions acceptable? Are there limits on the number of articles provided? How would any limits be determined? If the tables of contents are acquired through an agency such as Ingenta, that provides them with permission from the publishers, does that have any impact on the legality of #2? Could these legally acquired tables of contents be forwarded to multiple users?
It seems like, since libraries often pay much higher rates for subscriptions than individuals do, we should be able to make copies of our own subscriptions for our own patrons, especially in today's highly distributed world, where in many institutions, patrons rarely come to the library building. However, I am not confident that this is legal, even though it seems like it should be. I am interested in anybody's thoughts or experiences on this subject.
Thanks! - September 17, 2004 @ 1:22pmCarrie says:I am not sure about the TOC part of your question. If the TOCs are acquired thru a license agreement, the license terms could provide a clue.
I wonder if the TOC database is searchable by your patrons, and if you provide the TOCs to faculty as a courtesy - to highlight new acquisitions for example.
If your institution is nonprofit educational, then Section 108 (a) may cover making the single copies of requested articles (but you would have to check if the library meets all of the critieria that is listed in 108).
Making a copy for a patron at their request would likely be a fair use, but we would have to know more about the institution and its mission etc. before we could do a good fair use assessment.
[quote]Hi~
I have a question about how copyright relates to Table of Contents programs. Assume a program where:
1) a library sends out table of contents from journals to which it subscribes to its own agency patrons (not to the public at large),
2) patrons circle the articles that they want, and these are copied and provided by the library.
Are either of these actions acceptable? Are there limits on the number of articles provided? How would any limits be determined? If the tables of contents are acquired through an agency such as Ingenta, that provides them with permission from the publishers, does that have any impact on the legality of #2? Could these legally acquired tables of contents be forwarded to multiple users?
It seems like, since libraries often pay much higher rates for subscriptions than individuals do, we should be able to make copies of our own subscriptions for our own patrons, especially in today's highly distributed world, where in many institutions, patrons rarely come to the library building. However, I am not confident that this is legal, even though it seems like it should be. I am interested in anybody's thoughts or experiences on this subject.
Thanks![/quote] - September 19, 2004 @ 2:00pmlibkitty says:"I am not sure about the TOC part of your question. If the TOCs are acquired thru a license agreement, the license terms could provide a clue."
We provide electronic TOCs, and can check the license on that. We also provide paper TOCs for some of the titles we have paper subscriptions to.
If your institution is nonprofit educational, then Section 108 (a) may cover making the single copies of requested articles (but you would have to check if the library meets all of the critieria that is listed in 108). "
We're a state agency, so definitely nonprofit, but not educational, at least in traditional terms.
Posting to the forum is only available to users who are logged in.