Policy on Responsible Use of Online Resources
Health Sciences Library, April 2003
The Health Sciences Library licenses access to various online information resources for the non-profit educational, clinical, and research uses of current faculty, staff, and students of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Campus. The use of library-subscribed online resources is governed by license agreements negotiated between the library and publishers/vendors.
Publishers/vendors routinely monitor use of their online products to protect their intellectual property. It is critical that all authorized users abide by the terms of the library’s license agreements and this policy to ensure that the entire campus community has access to electronic resources without interruption. A violation of the terms and conditions of license agreements can result in the temporary suspension or even termination of access to resources for all users!
Disclaimer
Health Sciences Library is not responsible for damages, indirect or direct, that result from an individual’s use of the library’s online information resources.
Authorized Users
Online resources are provided for the use of current health sciences faculty, staff, and students. Others may use online resources on library premises when allowed by the publisher/vendor.
Copyright
The contents of online journals, books, databases, and multimedia materials are intellectual property protected by U.S. copyright laws. Individual users are responsible for any legal consequences arising from infringement of applicable laws.
Prohibited Uses
Users may download, save, or print reasonable portions of text, search results, and other information from the library’s online resources for studying, teaching, and/or research purposes.
The following uses are prohibited:
- Systematic or excessive downloading, copying, and/or archiving of substantial portions of online resources in any form or medium; examples of systematic or excessive use include:
- Continuously downloading one article after another;
- Continuously downloading tables of contents, search results, citations, or output;
- Downloading entire issues or volumes of an e-journal;
- Downloading the entire contents of an e-book or multimedia resource.
- Use of online resources for commercial purposes;
- Mounting or distributing any part of a licensed online resource on any electronic network other than the library’s secure network;
- Using a spider or crawler program to capture data;
- Altering, abridging, adapting, or modifying online resources in any form;
- Selling text, search results, or other information in any form or medium;
- Posting information retrieved or downloaded from online resources to a listserv, on a website, or to an email list;
- Redistributing information from online resources to unauthorized users;
- Sharing passwords for online resources with unauthorized users.
Consequences of Violation
Publishers and vendors routinely monitor use of their online resources to identify individuals who engage in prohibited practices. If account activity appears unusual, the publisher/vendor will trace the source of the activity and ask library staff to warn the offending user. Publishers/vendors may also suspend access to the particular electronic resource for the entire campus.
If the illegal use does not stop, the publisher/vendor has the legal right to terminate access to the resource for the entire campus. Individual users are fully responsible for the consequences of violation. The Health Sciences Library may suspend or even terminate the violator’s access to the library’s subscribed online resources and other library resources and services. Violation of this policy may also result in the loss of campus privileges. If you have questions about appropriate use of the library’s online resources, please contact Jerry Perry, Library Director, at Jerry.Perry@uchsc.edu or 303-724-2133.
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