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Course Reserves

Information about Course Reserves at the Texas Tech University Libraries

Copyright Information

The Texas Tech University Library has created guidelines for submission of items to be placed on reserve. These guidelines are based on the provisions of "fair use" in the United States Copyright Act of 1976. Section 107 of the Copyright Acts permits the "fair use" of copyrighted material. Fair use is determined by the four factors listed below:

  • The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
  • The nature of the copyrighted work
  • Amount and substantially of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
  • The effect of the use upon the potential market value of the copyrighted work

Faculty and instructors may place any of the following on electronic or print reserve which does not require copyright permission:

  • Exams, syllabi, lecture notes, homework solutions
  • U.S. government publications
  • A single article from a journal for one semester only
  • One chapter from a book for one semester only
  • Articles to which the Library subscribed electronically
  • Student papers with consent from the student
  • Books from the Library collection
  • Books owned by the professor

Items which require copyright permission:

  • Articles from journals that are needed for more than one semester
  • Multiple articles from a single journal
  • Single chapters from a book that are needed for more than one semester
  • Multiple chapters from the same book

Items will be posted pending copyright approval. If approval is denied, faculty will be notified and the item will be taken offline.

If you have questions, please contact us at libraries.reserve@ttu.edu.

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) 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." 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.

This institution reserves the right to refuse a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.