Suddenly Remote: What to consider when sharing materials

Image by Goumbik from Pixabay

If you’re not already familiar with fair use, the balance in copyright law that allows for some reuse of copyrighted materials without specific permission, now may be the time.  There are generally four factors to consider under the doctrine which relate to: 1) the purpose of the use  2) the nature of the work  3) the amount used and 4) the market impact.  Read more about it on the Fair Use page on the Scholarly Communication at Tufts website.

If you’ve suddenly found yourself remote and in a situation quite different from how you would normally operate, these extreme and short term circumstances may mean that you make different decisions about what you can fairly use than you normally might.

This is something we are thinking about at the library as well.  In particular, with regard to our Interlibrary Loan service through ILLiad.  While we presently are not able to fill requests for physical items, we are taking into account the present situation and need for access to more book chapters, for example, than typical.  Please Ask Us if you would like to consult about the reuse of materials or have questions about interlibrary loan.

Post contributed by Judy Rabinowitz