When recommending copyright works on reading lists care must be taken when providing access. You can provide electronic access in the following ways:
- Link to library online resources, such as ebooks, ejournals and databases.
- Use university blanket licences which allow copying of extracts from books, journals, newspapers, and television and radio broadcasts. (Note that UK licences only apply to University of Nottingham members registered in the UK).
- Use works that are open licensed, or where copyright has expired. This includes Crown copyright and Creative Commons materials
- Seek permission from the rights holder.
Library online resources
Electronic resources are subject to publisher licence agreements. Most only allow you to download extracts for personal use. So you should not make downloaded pdfs available on Moodle unless you know it is specifically allowed in the licence. Always link to the publisher’s website instead.
If you are using a library online reading list adding direct links to ebooks or articles is easy. Visit the reading lists page for help to do this.
If you are adding a link to Moodle then you need to copy the ebook link from the library catalogue, or find a persistent or stable link (e.g. DOI) for a journal article.
Print materials
Chapters, articles and extracts from library print collections can be scanned under the CLA HE Licence and links to the scans made available on Moodle, or online reading lists. Scanned extracts must have a copyright notice added, and be centrally stored for annual reporting to the CLA. This means scanning may only be carried out by the Library scanning service.
See the Scanning service page for how to request scans.
You should not scan and make available extracts yourself unless you have permission from the copyright holder, or the material is covered by an open licence which allows this.
Website materials
Although content published on a website is “freely” accessible it is subject to the same copyright regulations as any published work. You should not copy, or upload material to Moodle from web pages unless this is permitted.
It is best to provide links so that students can access the resources themselves. Always check the website terms and conditions first. Where you use a ‘deep link’ directly to content within a website’s structure, you should give the user the option of finding the homepage as well. Deep links can often be unstable as URLS may change.
If you suspect that material is infringing copyright, or you are not sure of its origins then you should not link to it.
See the Websites and social media page for more advice.
Films, broadcasts and sound recordings
We subscribe to the Box of Broadcasts operated by the British University Film and Video Council, which you can use to record and share broadcast programmes with your students.
Be wary of copying material you find on YouTube, Google Videos and similar sites, especially material posted by someone other than the copyright owner. Only copy if you are sure that you have permission to do so. It is always safest to link.
See the Films and Broadcasts page for more advice.