ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


127

Model Policy Concerning College and 
University Photocopying for Classroom, 

Research and Library Reserve Use

E d itors Note: This model policy was prepared by 
Mary Hutchings, A L A s legal counsel, in March, 
1982.

I. T h e  C o p y r ig h t  A c t  a n d  P h o t o c o p y in g
From  tim e to tim e, th e faculty and staff of this 

University [College] may use photocopied m ate­
rials to s u p p le m e n t re s e a rc h  and teach in g . In 
many cases, photocopying can facilitate the U ni­
v e r s ity ’s [C o lle g e ’s] m issio n ; th a t is, th e  d e ­
velopm ent and transm ission of information. H ow ­
ever, th e photocopying of copyrighted m aterials 
is a right granted u n d e r th e copyright law’s doc­
trin e  of “fair u se ” w hich m u st not b e abused. 
This re p o r t will explain th e  U n iv e rsity ’s [C ol­
le g e ’s] policy c o n c e rn in g  th e  p h o to c o p y in g  of 
copyrighted m aterials by faculty and library staff. 
P lease n o te  th a t th is p o licy  does n o t a d d re ss 
o th er library photocopying which may be p e rm it­
te d  u n d e r o th e r sections of th e  copyright law, 
e.g ., 17 U .S.C . §108.

C opyright is a constitutionally conceived p ro p ­
erty right which is designed to prom ote the prog­
ress of science and the useful arts by securing for 
an author the benefits of his or h e r original work 
of authorship for a lim ited tim e. U.S. C onstitu­
tion, Art. I, Sec. 8. T he C opyright statu te, 17 
U .S.C . §101 et seq., im plem ents this policy by 
balancing the au th o r’s in te re st against th e public 
in terest in the dissem ination of information affect­
ing areas of universal concern, such as art, sci­
ence, history  and business. The grand design of 
this delicate balance is to foster th e creation and 
dissem ination of intellectual works for the general 
public.

T h e  C o p y rig h t A ct d e fin e s th e  rig h ts  o f a 
copyright holder and how they may be enforced 
a g a in s t an in f r in g e r . I n c lu d e d  w ith in  th e  
C opyright Act is th e  “fair u se’’ d o ctrin e w hich 
allows, u n d e r certain conditions, the copying of 
copyrighted m aterial. W hile the Act lists general 
factors u n d e r the heading of “fair u se” it provides 
little in th e way of specific directions for w hat 
constitutes fair use. The law states:

17 U.S.C. §107. Limitations on exclusive rights: 
Fair use.

N otw ithstanding the provisions of section 106, 
the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such 
use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or 
by any o th er means specified by th at section, for 
purposes such as criticism , com m ent, news re ­
porting, teaching ( including multiple copies f o r  
classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not

an infringem ent o f  copyrigh t. In d e te rm in in g  
w h eth er the use m ade of a work in any particular 
case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall 
include—

(1) th e  p u rp o se and character of th e use, in ­
cluding w h e th e r such use is of a commercial na­
tu re  or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the n ature of th e copyrighted work;
(3) the am ount and substantiality of the portion 

u se d  in relatio n  to th e  co p y rig h ted  w ork as a 
whole; and

(4) th e  effect of th e  u se u p o n  th e  p o te n tia l 
m a rk e t for o r v a lu e  of th e  c o p y rig h te d  w ork. 
(Emphasis added.)

The purpose of this rep o rt is to provide you, 
the faculty and staff of this U niversity [College], 
with an explanation of w hen the photocopying of 
copyrighted m aterial in our opinion is p erm itte d  
u n d e r  th e  fair u se d o c trin e . W h e re  p o ssib le , 
common examples of research, classroom, and li­
brary reserve photocopying have b een  included 
to illustrate w hat we believe to be th e reach and 
limits of fair use.

Please note that th e copyright law applies to all 
forms of photocopying, w h e th e r it is u ndertaken 
at a com m ercial copying center, at the U niver­
sity’s [College’s] central or departm ental copying 
facilities or at a self-service machine. W hile you 
are free to use th e services of a com m ercial estab­
lis h m e n t, you sh o u ld  b e p r e p a r e d  to p ro v id e  
docum entation of perm ission from the pu blisher 
(if such perm ission is necessary u n d e r this po l­
icy), since many com m ercial copiers will req u ire 
such proof.

W e hope this rep o rt will give you an apprecia­
tion of the factors which weigh in favor of fair use 
and those factors w hich weigh against fair use, 
b u t faculty m em bers m ust determ in e for th e m ­
selves w hich w orks will b e  p h o to c o p ie d . This 
U niversity [College] does not condone a policy of 
photocopying instead of purchasing copyrighted 
works w here such photocopying would constitute 
an infringem ent u n d e r the Copyright law, b u t it 
does encourage faculty m em bers to exercise good 
ju d g m en t in serving th e b est interests of students 
in an efficient m anner. This U niversity [College] 
and its faculty and staff will make a conscientious 
effort to com ply w ith th ese guidelines.

Instructions for securing perm ission to photo­
copy copyrighted works w hen such copying is b e ­
yond the limits of fair use appear at the end  of 
this report. It is th e policy of this U niversity that 
the u ser (faculty, staff or librarian) secure such 
perm ission w h en ev er it is legally necessary.



128

II. U n r e s t r i c t e d  P h o t o c o p y i n g
A. Uncopyrighted Published Works

W ritin g s  p u b lis h e d  b e fo re  J a n u a ry  1, 1978, 
w h ic h  h a v e  n e v e r  b e e n  c o p y r ig h te d  m ay b e  
p h o to co p ied  w ith o u t restrictio n . C opies of works 
p r o t e c t e d  b y  c o p y rig h t m u s t b e a r  a c o p y rig h t 
notice, w hich consists of th e  le tte r  “c” in a circle, 
o r th e  w o rd  “ C o p y r ig h t” , o r th e  a b b re v ia tio n  
“C o p r .” , plus th e  y ear o f first publication, plus 
th e  n a m e  o f th e  c o p y rig h t o w n e r. 17 U .S .C . 
§401. As to w orks p u b lis h e d  b e fo re  Ja n u a ry  1, 
1978, in th e  case of a book, th e  notice m u st b e 
p laced  on th e  title  page o r th e  re v e rse  side of th e  
title  page. In  th e  case of a periodical th e  notice 
m u st b e  p laced  e ith e r on th e  title  page, th e  first 
page o f text, o r in th e  m asthead . A pre-1978 fail­
u re  to com ply w ith th e  notice re q u ire m e n ts r e ­
su lte d  in th e  w ork b e in g  in je c te d  into th e  p ublic 
dom ain, i.e ., u n p ro te c te d . C o p y rig h t n o tice r e ­
q u ire m e n ts have b e e n  relaxed since 1978, so th a t 
th e  ab sen ce of notice on copies of a work p u b ­
lish ed  after Jan u ary  1, 1978, does not necessarily 
m e a n  t h e  w o rk  is in  t h e  p u b l ic  d o m a in . 17 
U .S .C . §405 (a) and (c). H ow ever, you will not be 
liable for dam ages for copyright in frin g em en t of 
w orks p u b lis h e d  after th a t date, if, after norm al 
in sp ectio n , you p h otocopy a w ork on w hich you 
cannot find a copyright sym bol an d  you have not 
re c e iv e d  a c tu a l n o tic e  o f th e  fact th e  w o rk  is 
c o p y r ig h te d . 17 U .S .C . §405(b). H o w e v e r, a 
c o p y r i g h t  o w n e r  w h o  f o u n d  o u t a b o u t  y o u r 
p h o to c o p y in g  w o u ld  h av e th e  rig h t to p r e v e n t 
fu r th e r d is trib u tio n  o f th e  copies if in fact th e  
w ork w ere c o p y rig h ted  and th e  copies are infring­
ing. 17 U .S .C . §405(b).
B. Published Works With Expired Copyrights

W r i ti n g s  w ith  e x p i r e d  c o p y r ig h ts  m a y  b e  
p h o to c o p ie d  w ith o u t re s tric tio n . All co p y rig h ts 
p rio r to 1906 have ex p ired . 17 U .S .C . §304(b). 
C opyrights g ra n te d  after 1906 may have b e e n  r e ­
n e w e d ; h o w e v e r th e  w ritin g  w ill p ro b a b ly  n o t 
c o n ta in  n o tic e  o f th e  r e n e w a l. T h e r e f o r e , it 
sh o u ld  b e  a s s u m e d  all w ritin g s d a te d  1906 or 
la te r a re  covered by a valid copyright, unless in­
fo rm a tio n  to th e  c o n tra ry  is o b ta in e d  from  th e  
o w n e r  o r t h e  U .S . C o p y r ig h t  O ffice (s e e  
C o p y rig h t Office C ircu lar 15t).

C o p y rig h t Office C ircu lar R22 explains how  to 
in v estig ate th e  co p y rig h t statu s of a w ork. O n e 
way is to use th e  Catalog o f  C opyright Entries
p u b lish e d  by th e  C opyright Office an d  available 

 

in [th e U niversity L ibrary] m any libraries. A lter­
natively you may re q u e s t th e  C o pyright Office to 
co n d u ct a search of its registratio n an d /o r assign­
m e n t records. T he Office charges an ho u rly  fee 
for this service. You will n e e d  to su b m it as m uch 
inform ation as you have co n cern in g  th e  work in 
w hich you are in te re s te d , such as th e  title, a u ­
th o r, approxim ate d ate of publication, th e  ty p e of 
w o rk  o r a n y  a v a ila b le  c o p y r i g h t  d a ta . T h e  
C o p y rig h t Office does c au tio n  th a t its search es

a re  n o t c o n clu siv e; for in s ta n c e , if a w o rk  o b ­
ta in e d  co p y rig h t less th an  28 years ago, it m ay be 
fully p ro te c te d  alth o ug h  th e re  has b e e n  no reg is­
tratio n  or d eposit.
C. Unpublished Works

U n p u b lish e d  works, such as th eses an d  d iss e r­
tations, may b e  p ro te c te d  by  copyright. If such a 
w ork was c re a te d  b efo re Jan u ary  1, 1978, an d  has 
n o t b e e n  c o p y r i g h t e d  o r p u b l i s h e d  w i t h o u t  
copyright notice, th e  w ork is p ro te c te d  u n d e r th e  
new  Act for th e  life of th e  a u th o r plus fifty years, 
17 U .S .C . §303, b u t in no case e a rlie r th a n  D e ­
c e m b e r 31, 2002. If  such a w ork is p u b lis h e d  on 
or before th a t d ate, th e  copyright will not expire 
before D e c e m b e r 31, 2027. W orks c re a te d  after 
J a n u a r y  1, 1 978, a n d  n o t p u b l i s h e d  e n jo y  
copyright p ro te c tio n  for th e  life of th e  a u th o r plus 
fifty years. 17 U .S .C . §302.
D. U.S. Government Publications

All U .S . G o v e r n m e n t p u b lic a tio n s  w ith  th e  
possible exception o f som e N ational T echnical I n ­
form ation Service Publications less th an  5 years 
old may b e p h o to co p ied  w ith o u t restrictio n s, ex­
c e p t to th e  ex ten t th e y  contain co p y rig h ted  m a te ­
rials from  o th e r sources. 17 U .S .C . §105. U .S. 
G o v e r n m e n t p u b lic a tio n s  a re  d o c u m e n ts  p r e ­
p a re d  by an official o r em p loy ee of th e  g o v ern ­
m e n t in  an official c a p a c ity . 17 U .S .C . §101. 
G o v e rn m e n t publicatio ns in clu de th e  opinions of 
co u rts in legal cases, C on g ressio n al R ep o rts on 
p ro p o sed  bills, testim o n y  offered at C ongressional 
hearings and th e  works of g o v e rn m e n t em p loy ees 
in t h e ir  official c a p acities. W orks p r e p a r e d  by 
o u tsid e  a u th o rs on c o n tra c t to th e  g o v e rn m e n t 
m ay or may n o t b e  p ro te c te d  by copyright, d e ­
p e n d in g  on th e  specifics of th e  co ntract. In  th e  
a b se n c e  of c o p y rig h t n o tic e  on su c h  w o rk s, it 
w ould b e reaso n ab le to assum e th e y  are g o v ern ­
m e n t works in th e  p u b lic dom ain. It should be 
n o te d  th a t state g o v e rn m e n t w orks m ay b e p ro ­
te c te d  by  copyright. See, 17 U .S .C . §105. H ow ­
e v e r, th e  o p in io n s of sta te  c o u rts a re  n o t p r o ­
tected .

III. P e r m i s s i b l e  P h o t o c o p y i n g  o f  
C o p y r i g h t e d  W o r k s

T he C o pyright Act allows anyone to photocopy 
c o p y rig h te d  w orks w ith o u t se c u rin g  p e rm issio n  
from  th e  copyright o w n er w h en  th e  photocopying 
am ounts to a “fair u se ” of th e  m aterial. 17 U .S .C . 
§107. T h e g u id elin es in th is re p o rt discuss th e  
b o u n d a rie s for fair u se of p h o to c o p ie d  m aterial 
u sed  in research  or th e  classroom  or in a library 
re se rv e  o peration. F a ir use cannot always b e ex­
p re sse d  in n u m b e rs— e ith e r th e  n u m b e r of pages 
c o p ie d  o r t h e  n u m b e r  o f c o p ie s  d i s t r i b u t e d .  
T h erefo re, you should w eigh th e  various factors 
listed in th e  Act an d  ju d g e  w h e th e r th e  in te n d e d  
u s e  o f p h o t o c o p i e d , c o p y r i g h t e d  m a t e r i a l  is 
w ith in  th e  s p irit o f th e  fair u se d o c trin e . A ny 
serious q u estio n s co n cern in g  w h e th e r a p articu lar



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p h oto copying c o n stitu te s fair use sh o u ld  b e d i­
re c te d  to U niversity [College] counsel.
A. Research Uses

At th e very least, in stru cto rs may m ake a single 
copy of any of th e  following for scholarly research  
or use in teaching or p re p a rin g  to teach a class:

1. a c h a p te r from a book;
2. an article from a periodical or new spaper;
3. a sh o rt story, sh o rt essay, o r sh o rt p o em , 

w h e th e r or n o t from  a collective work;
4. a ch art, diagram , graph, draw ing, cartoon or 

p ic tu re  from  a book, periodical, or new spaper.
T h ese exam ples reflect th e  m ost co nservative 

guidelines for fair use. T hey do no t re p re s e n t in ­
violate ceilings for th e  am o u n t of co pyrighted m a­
terial w hich can b e  ph o to co p ied  w ith in  th e  b o u n ­
d a r ie s  o f fa ir u s e . W h e n  e x c e e d i n g  t h e s e  
m inim um  levels, how ever, you again should co n­
sid er th e  four factors listed in Section 107 of th e  
C opyright Act to m ake sure th a t any additional 
photocopying is justified. T he following d e m o n ­
strate situations w h ere in creased  levels of p h o to ­
c o p y in g  w o u ld  c o n tin u e  to re m a in  w ith in  th e  
am bit of fair use:

1. th e  inability to obtain a n o th e r copy of th e 
w ork b ecause it is n o t available from an o th e r li­
b rary  or source or cannot b e o b tain ed  w ithin y o u r 
tim e constraints;

2. th e  in te n tio n  to pho tocopy th e  m aterial only 
once an d  not to d istrib u te  th e  m aterial to others;

3. th e  ability to keep  th e  am o u n t of m aterial 
p h o to cop ied  w ithin a reasonable p ro p o rtio n  to th e  
e n tir e  w o rk  (th e  la rg e r th e  w ork, th e  g r e a te r  
am o u n t o f m aterial w hich may be photocopied).

M ost sin gle-copy p h o to c o p y in g  for y o u r p e r ­
sonal use in re s e a rc h — ev en  w h e n  it involves a 
substantial p o rtio n  of a w ork— may well c o n stitu te 
fair use.
B. Classroom Uses

P rim ary an d  secondary school educators have, 
w ith  p u b l i s h e r s ,  d e v e l o p e d  t h e  fo llo w in g  
g u id e lin e s, w hich allow a te a c h e r to d is tr ib u te  
pho to cop ied  m aterial to stu d en ts in a class w ith ­
ou t th e  p u b lis h e r’s p rio r p erm issio n , u n d e r th e 
following conditions:

1. th e  d istrib u tio n  of th e  sam e p h o to co p ied  m a­
terial does no t occur ev ery  sem ester;

2. only one copy is d istrib u te d  for each stu d e n t 
which copy m u st b eco m e th e  s tu d e n t’s p ro p erty ;

3. th e  m aterial includes a copyright notice on 
th e  first page of th e  p o rtio n  of m aterial p h o to ­
copied;

4. th e stu d e n ts are n ot assessed any fee b ey o n d  
th e  actual cost of th e  photocopying.

In  a d d itio n , th e  e d u c a to r s  a g r e e d  t h a t  th e  
am ount of m aterial d istrib u te d  should not exceed 
c e r t a i n  b r e v i t y  s t a n d a r d s . U n d e r  th o s e  
guidelines, a prose w ork m ay b e  re p ro d u c e d  in 
its e n tire ty  if it is less th an  2500 w ords in length. 
If th e  work exceeds such len g th , th e  excerpt r e ­
p ro d u c e d  may not exceed 1000 w ords, or 10% of

t h e  w o rk , w h i c h e v e r  is le s s . In  t h e  c a se  o f 
p oetry , 250 w ords is th e  m axim um  p e rm itte d .

T hese m inim um  standards norm ally w ould not 
b e  re a lis tic  in th e  U n iv e rs ity  s e ttin g . F a c u lty  
m em bers n e e d in g  to exceed th e se  lim its for col­
lege ed u catio n  should not feel h a m p e re d  by th ese 
g u i d e l i n e s , a l th o u g h  t h e y  s h o u ld  a t t e m p t  a 
“ s e l e c ti v e  a n d  s p a r i n g ” u s e  o f p h o t o c o p i e d , 
co pyrighted m aterial.

T h e  p h o to c o p y in g  p ra c tic e s  o f an in s tr u c to r  
should not have a significant d e trim e n ta l im p act 
on t h e  m a r k e t fo r t h e  c o p y r i g h te d  w o rk . 17 
U .S .C . §107(4). To gu ard  against this effect, you 
usually should re s tric t use of an item  of p h o to ­
copied m aterial to one course an d  you should n o t 
r e p e a te d ly  p h o to c o p y  e x c e rp ts  from  o n e p e r i ­
odical or a u th o r w ith o u t th e  p e rm issio n  o f th e  
copyright ow ner.
C. Library Reserve Uses

At th e re q u e s t of a faculty m em b er, a library 
m ay p h o to c o p y  a n d  p la c e  on r e s e r v e  e x c e rp ts  
from  c o p y rig h te d  w orks in its co llectio n  in ac­
cordance w ith guidelines sim ilar to those g o v ern ­
ing form al classroom  d istrib u tio n  for face to face 
teach ing  discu ssed  above. This U n iv ersity  [C ol­
lege] believes th a t th e se  gu id elin es apply to th e  
library re se rv e  sh elf to th e  e x ten t it functions as 
an extension of classroom  readings or reflects an 
in d iv id u a l s t u d e n t ’s rig h t to p h o to c o p y  for his 
personal scholastic use u n d e r th e  d o ctrin e of fair 
use. In  general, librarians may photocopy m a te ­
rials for re se rv e  room  use for th e  co nvenience of 
stu d e n ts b oth  in p re p a rin g  class assignm ents and 
in p u rsu in g  inform al educational activities w hich 
h ig h e r ed u catio n  re q u ire , such as ad v an ced  in ­
d e p e n d e n t study an d  research.

I f  th e  r e q u e s t calls for only on e copy to b e  
placed on re se rv e , th e  library m ay photocopy an 
e n tire  article, or an e n tire  c h a p te r from a book, 
or an e n tire  poem . R eq u ests for multiple copies 
on re se rv e  should m e e t th e following guidelines:

1. th e  am ount of m aterial should b e reasonable 
in re la tio n  to th e  to tal a m o u n t of m a te ria l a s­
signed for one te rm  of a course taking into ac­
count th e  n a tu re  o f th e  course, its su b ject m a tte r 
and level, 17 U .S .C . §107(1) and (3);

2. th e  n u m b e r of copies should be reasonable 
in light of th e  n u m b e r of stu d e n ts en ro lled , th e  
d ifficu lty  a n d  tim in g  o f a s s ig n m e n ts , a n d  th e  
n u m b e r of o th e r co urses w hich m ay assign th e  
sam e m aterial, 17 U .S .C . §107(1) a n d  (3);

3. th e  m a te r ia l s h o u ld  c o n ta in  a n o tic e  o f 
copyright, see, 17 U .S .C . §401;

4. t h e  e ffe c t o f p h o to c o p y in g  t h e  m a te r ia l 
should no t b e d e trim e n ta l to th e  m ark et for th e  
work. (In general, th e  library sho uld own at least 
one copy of th e  w ork.) 17 U .S .C . §107(4).

F o r exam ple, a professor m ay place on reserv e 
as a su p p le m e n t to th e  course textbook a re a so n ­
able n u m b e r of copies of articles from academ ic 
journals or ch ap ters from tra d e  books. A reaso n ­
able n u m b e r of copies will in m ost instances be 
less th an  six, b u t factors such as th e  le n g th  or



130

difficulty of th e  assignm ent, th e  n u m b e r of e n ­
rolled stu d en ts and the length of tim e allowed for 
com pletion of the assignm ent may p e rm it m ore in 
unusual circum stances.

In  addition, a faculty m em b er may also re q u e st 
that m ultiple copies of photocopied, copyrighted 
m aterial b e placed on th e  reserve shelf if th e re  is 
insufficient tim e to obtain p erm issio n  from  th e 
copyright owner. F o r example, a professor may 
place on reserve several photocopies of an en tire 
article from a recen t issue of Time m agazine or 
th e  N ew  Y ork Times in lie u  o f d is tr ib u tin g  a 
copy to each m em b er of th e class. If you are in 
d o u b t as to w h e th e r  a p a r tic u la r  in s ta n c e  o f 
photocopying is fair use in th e  re se rv e  reading 
room , you shou ld seek th e  p u b lis h e r s p e rm is­
sion. Most publishers will b e cooperative and will 
waive any fee for such a use.
D . Uses of Photocopied Material Requiring 
Permission

1. Repetitive copying: The classroon or reserve 
use of photocopied m aterials in m ultiple courses 
or successive years will norm ally re q u ire  advance 
perm ission from the ow ner of the copyright, 17 
U .S.C . §107(3).

2. C o p y in g  f o r  p ro fit: F a c u lty  s h o u ld  n o t 
ch arg e s tu d e n ts  m o re  th a n  th e  ac tu a l co st of 
photocopying th e m aterial, 17 U .S.C . §107(1).

3. Consumable works: T he duplication of works 
th a t a re  c o n s u m e d  in th e  classro o m , su ch  as 
s ta n d a rd iz e d  te s ts , e x e rc ise s, a n d  w o rk b o o k s, 
norm ally req u ires perm ission from th e copyright 
ow ner, 17 U .S .C . §107(4).

4. Creation o f  anthologies as basic text material
f o r  a course: C reation of a collective work or an­

 

thology by photocopying a n u m b e r of copyrighted 
articles and excerpts to b e p u rch ased  and u sed  
to g e th e r as th e basic text for a course will in m ost 
instances re q u ire th e  perm ission of th e  copyright 
owners. Such photocopying is m ore likely to be 
considered as a su b stitu te for purchase of a book 
and th u s less likely to b e d e e m e d  fair use, 17 
U .S.C . §107(4).
E. How to Obtain Permission

W hen a use of photocopied m aterial req u ires 
th a t you re q u e s t p erm issio n , you sh o u ld  com ­
m unicate co m plete and accurate inform ation to 
the copyright owner. T he Am erican Association of 
P ublishers suggests that the following inform ation 
b e in c lu d e d  in a p e rm issio n  r e q u e s t l e t t e r  in 
o rd er to expedite th e  process:

1. Title, a u th o r and/or ed ito r, and edition of 
m aterials to be duplicated.

2. Exact m aterial to be used, giving am ount, 
page n u m b ers, chapters and, if possible, a photo­
copy of th e  m aterial.

3. N u m b er of copies to be m ade.
4. Use to be m ade of d uplicated m aterials.
5. Form  of distribution (classroom, n ew sletter, 

etc.).
6. W h e th e r or not th e m aterial is to b e sold.

7. Type of re p rin t (ditto, photography, offset, 
typeset).

T he re q u e s t should be sent, to g e th e r w ith a 
self-ad d ressed  re tu rn  en v elo p e, to th e  p e rm is­
sions d ep a rtm e n t of the p u b lish er in question. If 
th e address of the p u b lish er does not appear at 
the front of th e m aterial, it may be readily ob­
ta in e d  in  a p u b lic a tio n  e n ti tl e d  The L itera ry
M a rketplace, p u b lis h e d  by th e  R. R. B ow ker

 
 

C om pany and available in all libraries.
T h e process of g ra n tin g  p e rm issio n  re q u ire s  

tim e for th e p u b lish er to check th e status of the 
copyright and to evaluate the n atu re of the r e ­
quest. It is advisable, therefore, to allow enough 
lead tim e to obtain perm ission before th e m ate­
rials are n eed ed . In some instances, th e p u b lish er 
may assess a fee for th e  perm ission. It is not in ­
ap p ro p riate  to pass this fee on to th e  stu d e n ts 
who receive copies of th e  photocopied m aterial.

The C opyright C learance C e n te r also has the 
rig h t to g ra n t p e rm is s io n  a n d  c o lle c t fees for 
photocopying rights for certain publications. Li­
braries may copy from any journal which is regis­
te re d  w ith th e C C C  and re p o rt th e copying b e ­
yond fair use to CC C  and pay th e  set fee. A list 
of publications for which th e CCC handles fees 
and perm issions is available from th e C C C, 310 
M adison A venue, N ew  York, N.Y. 10017.
Sample Letter To Copyright Owner (Publisher) 
Requesting Permission To Copy

M arch 1, 1982
M aterial Perm issions D e p a rtm e n t 
H ypothetical Book C om pany 
500 E ast Avenue 
Chicago, Illinois 60601
D ear Sir or Madam:

I would like perm ission to copy th e  following 
for continued use in my classes in future sem es­
ters:

Title: L earning is Good, Second E dition
Copyright: H ypothetical Book Co., 1965, 1971
Author: Frank Jones
M aterial to be duplicated: C hapters 10, 11 and 

14 (photocopy enclosed).
N u m b er of copies: 500
D istribution: The m aterial will be d istrib u ted  

to stu d en ts in my classes and th ey  will pay only 
th e cost of th e  photocopying.

Type of reprint: Photocopy
Use: T he ch ap ter will b e used as su p p lem en ­

tary teaching m aterials.
I have enclosed a self-addressed envelope for 

your convenience in replying to this req u est.
Sincerely,
Faculty M em ber

F . Infringement
C o u rts  a n d  le g a l sc h o la rs alik e  h a v e  c o m ­

m e n t e d  t h a t  th e  fa ir u s e  p ro v is io n s  in th e  
C o p y rig h t Act are am ong th e  m ost vague an d  
difficult th at can b e found anyw here in th e  law. 
In am ending th e C opyright Act in 1976, Congress 
anticipated th e  problem  this w ould pose for users



131

o f c o p y r ig h te d  m a te r ia ls  w ho w is h e d  to sta y  
u n d e r th e  u m b rella of p ro tectio n  offered by fair 
use. F o r this reason, th e  C opyright Act contains 
specific provisions w hich g ran t additional rights to 
lib raries and insulate em ployees of a non-profit 
educational institution, library, or archives from 
statutory dam ages for infringem ent w h ere th e  in ­
fringer b eliev ed  or had reasonable grounds to b e ­
lieve th e  photocopying was a fair use of th e m a te ­
rial. 17 U .S .C . §504(c)(2).

Norm ally, an infringer is liable to th e  copyright 
ow ner for th e  actual losses sustained because of 
the photocopying an d  any additional profits of th e 
infringor. 17 U .S .C . §504(a)(l) and (b). W h e re  
th e  m o netary losses are nom inal, th e  copyright 
o w n er usually will claim  sta tu to ry  dam ages in ­
stead  of the actual losses. 17 U .S .C . §504(a)(2) 
and (c). The statutory dam ages may reach as high 
as $10,000 (or up to $50,000 if th e  in frin gem en t is 
willful). In  addition to suing for m oney dam ages, 
a copyright ow ner can usually p re v e n t fu tu re in ­
frin g em en t th ro u g h  a co u rt injunction. 17 U .S .C . 
§502.

T h e C o p y rig h t Act specifically ex em p ts from  
statutory dam ages any em ployee of a non-profit 
educational institution, library, or archives, who 
“b eliev ed  and had reasonable grounds for b eliev ­
ing th at his or h e r use of th e  copyrighted work 
was a fair u se u n d e r  S ection  107.” 17 U .S .C . 
§504(c)(2). W hile th e  fair use provisions are ad ­
m ittedly am biguous, any em ployee who attem p ts 
to stay w ithin th e guidelines contained in this re ­
p o rt should have an ad eq u ate good faith defense 
in th e  case of an innocently co m m itted  infringe­
m ent.

I f  th e criteria contained in this re p o rt are fol­
low ed, it is o u r view th at no copyright infringe­
m en t will occur and th a t th e re  will b e no adverse 
affect on th e  m arket for copyrighted works.

(M any e d u c a tio n a l in s titu tio n s  w ill p ro v id e  
th e ir em p loyees legal counsel w ith o u t charge if 
an in frin gem en t suit is b ro u g h t against th e  e m ­
ployee for photocopying p erfo rm ed  in th e  course 
o f e m p lo y m e n t. I f  so, th is  s h o u ld  b e  n o te d  
h ere.) ■■

The View From HQ
Sandy W hiteley 

A CR L Program O fficer

Since joining ACRL in N ovem ber, 1981, as a 
half-tim e program  officer, I have had th e interim  
re s p o n sib ility  for th e  B ib lio g rap h ic In s tru c tio n  
L ia is o n  P r o je c t. By 
w o rk in g  w ith  n in e  
sc h o la rly  a ss o c ia tio n s , 
w e a re  tr y in g  to e d u ­
c a te  fa c u lty  a n d  a d ­
m in istra to rs a b o u t b ib ­
lio g r a p h ic  i n s t r u c t i o n  
(see C & RL N ew s, O c­
to b e r 1981, pp. 319-20).
T hese organizations are:
A m erican  A ssem bly  o f 
C o lle g ia te  S c h o o ls o f 
Business, A m erican As­
s o c ia tio n  fo r H ig h e r  
E d u c a t io n , A m e ric a n  Sandy W hiteley
Association for th e  A d­
v a n c e m e n t o f S c ie n c e , A m e ric a n  C o u n c il on 
E d u c a t io n , A m e ric a n  H is to r ic a l A s s o c ia tio n , 
Am erican Political Science Association, A m erican 
Psychological Association, A m erican Sociological 
Association, and th e M odern Language Associa­
tion.

In M arch and A pril, librarians will be giving 
w o rk s h o p s  on lib r a r y  sk ills in  s o c io lo g y  fo r 
sociologists a tten d in g  six regional m eetings of the 
A m erican Sociological Association. T he librarians 
will a tte m p t to have th e  p articipating sociologists

m ak e a c o n n e c tio n  b e t w e e n  w h a t th e y  h a v e  
learn ed  in th e  w orkshop and w hat th e ir stu d en ts 
n e e d  to learn— leading, we hope, to o p portunities 
for bibliographic instruction  on th e ir hom e cam ­
puses.

O u r proposal to th e  A m erican Association for 
H igher E ducation for a program  at th e ir annual 
m eeting was not accepted. W e did not subm it a 
proposal to th e  A m erican Psychological Associa­
tion because I was unable to find anyone to do a 
program  for them . I w ould very m uch appreciate 
hearing from som eone w ith a background in b ib ­
liographic instruction in psychology (especially an 
APA m e m b e r  o r s o m e o n e  w ith  a P h .D . in 
psychology) w ho w ould be w illing to p re p a re  a 
proposal for next y ear’s m eeting.

W e are now p rep arin g  for th e  proposal d e a d ­
lines for th e  A m erican Council on E ducation and 
th e M odern Language Association. W e know the 
m eetin g  places and dates and proposal deadlines 
for th e  rem aining five organizations and will p ro ­
ceed w ith th em  as tim e p erm its.

W e co n tinu e to b u ild  o u r resource file of lib rar­
ians w ith exp erience in bibliographic instruction 
who are willing to w rite proposals and give pa­
p ers at th e m eetings of professional associations. I 
w rote to all th e com m ittee m em bers of th e  Bib­
liographic In stru ctio n  Section and th e  A nthropol­
ogy and Sociology Section, soliciting participation 
in th e  p roject, and I w ould like to thank all the 
people who have resp o n d ed . W e will be getting 
back to all of you eventually an d  we w ould still 
be happy to receive m ore nam es.