Policies and Procedures

Policy Relating to
Copyrighted Materials

Copyright refers to a body of exclusive rights that protect the works of their creator(s) against copying or unauthorized public performance.  The Copyright Law of the Untied States (Title 17, United States Code) specifies two types of rights: owners' rights and users' rights.

The owners' rights describe the conditions of exclusive right by the creator(s) to reproduce and distribute copies of the work in question.  The rights and restrictions governing users are identified in the section on "fair use" that allows limited reproduction of copyrighted materials. 

WHS Library accepts and is guided by the provisions of the Copyright Law of 1976, and the guidelines developed to interpret it for users, as follows:

1.  No reproductions of materials will be added to the permanent collections unless copyright ownership is identified,

a.  except for materials produced on campus and/or by college personnel for campus use, or,

b.  if written copyright permission is submitted along with the material in question.

2.  No reproduction materials will be included in the Reserve Collection unless written copyright compliance or "fair use" guidelines permit.

3.  Reproduction of copyrighted materials, in any and all formats, by library staff members will be made only as allowed by law or "fair use" guidelines for "in house" and/or interlibrary loan use only.

4.  Reproduction of copyrighted materials, in any and all formats, in the collections of Miller Library is expressly forbidden unless allowed by "fair use" provisions or by written permission of the copyright owner.

5.  Public performance of materials, in any and all formats, in the collections of WHS Library is expressly forbidden unless performance rights are included in the purchase and/or donation of the material in question or unless written permission by the holder of the copyright is available at the time of performance.

6.  In any case where written permission is required to utilize library-owned materials, the responsibility for acquiring and submitting said permission rests with the person wishing to reproduce and/or perform the materials.  The library's responsibility ends with assisting, as able, in identifying and locating the copyright holder.

The above policy is general in nature and may not include all situations in which copyright concerns arise.  Should questions ensue, the Copyright Law and guidelines currently in effect will be the resources that govern the response.