What does the lawsuit against Georgia State mean?

Here's a well-written explanation of the recent lawsuit filed by the American Association of Publishers against Georgia State University over its use of an electronic reserves service (and perhaps also involving faculty members posting class readings in the university course management system).

NUL Copyright: What does the lawsuit against Georgia State mean?

Libraries have long provided access to materials on reserve in support of faculty members and their students. Section 108 of Title 17 of the United States Code, AKA the "Copyright Law of the United States of America" specifically guarantees the right for libraries to hold copies of works for the use of students in a given class for the duration of that class.

This case questions the ability of Section 108 to apply in a digital environment. Along with many other academic libraries, Miami University Libraries offers electronic reserves services -- see our guidelines here. We will be carefully watching this case and will post updates as they occur.

Faculty: need to place items on reserve?

The Library is pleased to provide class materials provided by instructors for the use of their students. We can keep items physically in the Library, or articles or book chapters may be placed on E-Reserves. More explanation of these options is available on our Course Reserves page.

A couple of key points to remember:

(1) Sufficient lead time is extremely helpful to us in ensuring that items are added in a timely fashion. A minimum of two business days is needed for physical reserves, and, particularly at this point in the semester, a week for e-reserves.

(2) Faculty need to fill out a reserve request form to ensure that the reserve is processed correctly. The form is available in the Library, but may also be downloaded here as a PDF. Or, use our online Reserve Request Form.