The purpose of this guide is to inform faculty about WCL’s Textbook Adoption process and to help students access course materials. Currently, when faculty request copies of more than 10%, or one chapter, of a textbook the FASS department must obtain copyright approval from the publisher to fulfill the request. The costs of this process and of obtaining the copyright approvals for using more than ten percent of a textbook are transferred to the students. Thus, this guide will provide an overview of copyright law, fair use, and the Pence Law Library’s copyright policy. Additionally, this guide will provide faculty guidance on the best practices and options available to them for obtaining textbooks for the students to use for class. This guide will also give faculty some suggestions for how faculty members can help reduce the costs that acquiring new textbooks places on students. 

United States copyright law protects the authors of original creative works by granting them limited control over their works' reproduction, distribution, adaptation, and display (17 U.S.C.S. § 106). It gives copyright holders a set of exclusive rights to: (1) reproduce; (2) distribute copies; (3) publicly perform; (4) publicly display; and (5) prepare derivative works based on the original, of the copyrighted work (17 U.S.C.S. § 106). These rights are subject to exceptions and limitations, such as “fair use.” 

Under the Fair Use Doctrine (17 U.S.C.S. § 107), the limited use of copyrighted materials for educational and research purposes is permitted without obtaining permission from the copyright holder. However, just because a use is educational does not mean that it automatically qualifies as fair use. Copyright law sets forth four factors that must be considered when determining whether a proposed use falls under fair use. The four factors for fair use are a balancing test. It is not all or nothing. A proposed use may contain elements of all four factors and still not qualify as fair use. Conversely, the complete lack of one or more factors may not disqualify a proposed use for fair use. 

Additionally, section 108 of Title 17 of the U.S. code permits libraries to use copyrighted material in specific ways without permission from the copyright holder under certain conditions. Specifically, section 108 permits libraries to make a photocopy or reproduction of portions of a copyrighted work as long as it is not “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” Regardless, there are still limits to the amount of a copyrighted work that a library can photocopy or reproduce under section 108 or under the Fair Use Doctrine. For more detailed information about the rights and responsibilities of libraries and educators when reproducing copyrighted works please see this Copyright Office circular.   

(image curtesy of http://www.dorieisenstat.com/) 

The Pence Law Library complies with the Copyright Act of 1976 and all subsequent amendments. As discussed above, United States copyright law governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. 

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries, and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." 17 USCS § 108. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. Thus, the Pence Law Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would violate copyright law. 

Furthermore, all electronic reserves and reproductions of print-based library services will be provided in a manner that conforms to Fair Use, the rights of copyright holders, and current copyright law. Only a limited amount of a copyrighted work may be reproduced as an e-reserve, and all reproductions will be made from copies lawfully obtained by the requesting faculty member or the library. All materials that are placed on reserve (electronic or physical) at the request of faculty or by the library are only for the noncommercial, educational use of students.   

To alleviate the financial burden this process places on students and simplify the process, the Pence Law Library has some alternative options for obtaining the requested textbook materials. The Pence Law Library keeps copies of all 1L course books on reserve at the circulation desk, where students can come and check these materials out for three-hour intervals on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please inform all 1L students looking for their required textbooks that they can get these materials at the library. 

Additionally, while the library carries many of the required textbooks for upper-level classes, the library does not keep all upper-level course books on reserve. Therefore, the Pence Law Library suggests the following alternative options and suggestion for faculty:

1. Use a Library eBook or Book in Our Catalog. Think about using a book the Pence Law Library offers through its online catalog, and inform students that they can search the library's catalog to see if an electronic holding of the textbook is available. Reach out to the reference librarians (reference@wcl.american.edu) to determine if there is a suitable textbook in our collection. 
2. Consider Using Open Educational Resources or Alternate Library Materials. If your preferred textbook is unavailable through the library's catalog then consider using textbooks that are already available through the library. You could also consider using an open educational resource (OER). Openstax and Open Textbook Library are two great resources for finding OERs.      
3. Alternate Purchase Sites. Inform students of alternate sites where the students may be able to purchase the textbook for a cheaper price from third-party sellers like Amazon or eBay.   
4. Publisher Discounts. Inform students who have already purchased the textbook and are still waiting for it to arrive that they can often request digital copies for a limited duration from the textbook’s publisher.
5. Online Study Aids. For study aids, inform the students that Pence Law Library provides access to electronic versions of commonly used study aids through the Pence Law Library catalog.