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Conditions of Use and Licensing Restrictions for Library-subscribed e-Resources

License Agreements

When the Library subscribes to e-resources for the University community, the conditions of use are set out in the license agreements negotiated between the Library and the publishers/vendors. It is the responsibility of individual users to comply with these terms and conditions of use. Licenses vary from publisher to publisher; however, some general principles are:

  • Authorized users may use the content of e-resources only for teaching, private study or research purposes.
  • Authorized users may download, save, copy or print a reasonable, insubstantial portion of the content of an e-resource in compliance with prevailing copyright laws.

Prohibited Uses/Actions

  • Systematic/excessive downloading from an e-resource
  • Archiving of downloaded materials on local servers without permission
  • Posting downloaded materials to a listserv, on a website or to an email list
  • Redistributing downloaded materials to or sharing passwords with unauthorized users
  • Reselling, redistributing or republishing of any journal text, output, search results, or other information in any form or medium

Systematic/Excessive Downloading

Systematic downloading/copying of an "excessive" portion of a resource either manually or by using robots, spiders, or other automated programs, and archiving the downloaded content in any format or medium is strictly prohibited. Examples:

  • Continuously downloading one article after another
  • Continuously downloading tables of contents, search results, citations or output
  • Downloading the entire issues or volumes of an e-journal
  • Downloading the entire contents of an e-book or multimedia resource

Consequences of Violation

  • Once the publishers/vendors notice abnormal activities, they will require the Library to warn the user concerned and may even cut off access to the particular e-resource from the entire University community!!
  • The entire contents of all Library-subscribed e-resources are also protected by the copyright law. Users are fully responsible for any legal consequences arising from excessive downloading or infringement of prevailing copyright laws.