Copyright : For Instructors

Instructors must consider copyright compliance when making electronic materials available to students in a course management system, such as Canvas. Instructional materials may be posted to Canvas under the following circumstances:

• The faculty member is the copyright owner of the material,
• A link is provided to the material rather than posting a copy,
• The faculty member has obtained permission from the copyright owner,
• The material has been designated open access,
• The material is in the public domain,
• The use of the material is considered fair use under copyright law.

Visiting the following pages for more information:

Source for Electronic Resources information:

When searching for articles to use in an online course, it is best to use items which are within Logan's subscriptions, or are open access and then post a link to the full text. Directly posting a PDF could result in potentially breaking copyright law, therefore we suggest always using the link in order to remain compliant. Most links need to be specially constructed in order to allow the off-campus user to access the resource.

Check for full text access to an article by looking up the journal in the Journal Holdings or by searching PubMed or EBSCOHost:

Look up the journal by title.  If we have that journal, you will see a link with a date range, follow the link to the full text site and then locate the article through the search, or by year/volume/issue/pagination.​

• Go to the library’s Databases and select a database to search in.
  • PubMed (must use PubMed through the library – do not just go to pubmed.gov)
    • Search the article’s title in the search box (or search for an article using Single Citation Matcher), or search with keywords to locate articles by subject.
      • Locate an article and then click on the title to view the full record with the abstract. 
        • If we have the article, you will see a dark blue Logan Online icon.  Click it and follow to full text.
  • EBSCOhost - This contains several databases, so click on Continue at the first screen to search them all at once.
    • Search for articles by subject, or enter the title of an article that you already have.
      • If we have the article, you will see a PDF or link to access under the record.  To get the permalink for the article, click on the article's title.  Then on the right side menu, click on permalink.

After you locate an article, you will need to construct a permalink (unless it is open access).  This link will run through Logan’s proxy server and allow the user to authenticate as affiliated with Logan University.  Setting up the permalink depends on which method you found the article.  Visit our tutorial page on creating permalinks.  The process can be tedious for some resources, so feel free to contact us and we will set them up for you.

If you have an article, which is not in Logan’s library collection, and not open access, you can contact the publisher directly to seek permission to use it in your course.  Sometimes they will grant this permission.  If they do, you need to keep a record of any communication.

The librarians are always happy to help with looking up articles and setting up permalinks.  Feel free to contact us anytime!

When using images in courses, it is best to gather those which have a creative commons license, are labeled for reuse, or are in a Logan licensed resource.

The biggest thing to keep in mind when using materials under the TEACH Act is that the "transmission" of the materials must be limited to students enrolled in the class.  

The law allows specifically for the following copyrighted works to be used by instructors: 

• Performances of nondramatic literary works. 
• Performances of nondramatic musical works. 
• Performances of any other work, including dramatic works and audiovisual works, but only in “reasonable and limited portions.” 
• Displays of any work “in an amount comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of a live classroom session.”

It also specially set down works that are not permitted;

• Works that are marketed “primarily for performance or display as part of mediated instructional activities transmitted via digital networks.” 
• Performances or displays given by means of copies “not lawfully made and acquired” under the U.S. Copyright Act, if the educational institution “knew or had reason to believe” that they were not lawfully made and acquired.

When using a copyrighted item an instructor must follow certain requirements; 

• The performance or display “is made by, at the direction of, or under the actual supervision of an instructor.” 
•  The materials are transmitted “as an integral part of a class session offered as a regular part of the systematic mediated instructional activities” of the educational institution. 
• The copyrighted materials are “directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content of the transmission.”

Authors may not realize when they sign a contract with a publisher that they are assigning their copyright to the publisher.  Retaining your rights as an author is important to ensure that you can you your writings in your teaching.  Attaching an author addendum will help ensure you retain your rights.

The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) works to enable open sharing or research outputs and educational materials.  The following SPARC resources will help authors retain their rights on published material:

Text a Librarian: 636-200-5426 Schedule an Appointment

Ellen Dickman
Director
 636.230.1787

Lindsay Gallagher
Discovery & Access Librarian
636.230.1783

Sheryl Walters
Reference & Instruction Librarian
 636.230.1788