Copyright and Fair Use: Best Practices for Educators

Ways to Share Print Sources with Your Students:

• Does it fall under fair use? It is spontaneous and brief? If not...
  • ​Provide students with the citation information of a book, and instruct them to find the title in the library. You can work with the librarian to purchase and place books on reserve.
  • Students are also allowed to photocopy! In a situation where one teacher may not be allowed to make multiple copies, if each student makes their own copy it may fall under Fair Use. This would be a good opportunity to teach your students about copyright.
  • Request permission from the publisher.
  • Is it available online? Instead of photocopying, provide a link with citation information (send the link in an email or show on your class website). Similarly, you can create online 'reading packets' by providing students with a list of links (and citation information).

Find more information on Copyright & Fair Use in the following sources:

Print

Butler, Rebecca. Copyright for Teachers & Librarians in the 21st Century. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2011.  

Simpson, Carol. Copyright Catechism II: Practical Answers to Everyday School Dilemmas. Denver, Colorado: Linworth, 2011.

Online

"Circular 21: Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Teachers and Librarians." United States Copyright Office: A Department of the Library of Congress. August 24, 2014. Accessed May 6, 2015. www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf.

"Know Your Copyrights: What You CAN do." Association of Research Libraries. 2007. Accessed May 6, 2015. http://www.knowyourcopyrights.org/bm~doc/kycrbrochurebw.pdf

Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana. "Public Domain and Creative Commons: A Guide to Works You Can Use Freely". http://libguides.lib.umt.edu/PublicDomainCC.