E-Resources: Copyright and Terms & Conditions

Copyright

LSU Libraries subscribes to licensed electronic resources, such as databases, journals, and books, in support of the educational and research needs of the LSU Baton Rouge campus community.  Access and use of our electronic resources is governed by both copyright law and license agreements that control who can use these materials as well as how they can be used.  Authorized Users are limited to members of the campus community (faculty, staff, and enrolled students) as well as on-site walk-in users.  These materials are licensed for nonprofit educational, research, and/or scholarly purposes. Specifically, sharing your password or using the materials for commercial purposes is prohibited.  

Please note that excessive downloading, whether by automated processes or even through functionality within the resource, like ScienceDirect, will result in campus access and, specifically your computer access, being blocked by the vendor, until investigated and remedied. If LSU ITS or the LSU Libraries contacts you about license violations coming from you or your computer, which may have been compromised, you must respond immediately.  You will receive a warning email from the LSU Libraries concerning the event and what you must do.  If you repeatedly engage in behavior that results in vendor complaints and campus shut-downs,  your off-campus access to all LSU Libraries resources will be suspended.

Violation of these terms jeopardizes campus access and exposes violators to disciplinary actions.  Your use of these resources indicates your awareness and compliance with licensing terms and conditions. 

Please note, you may not:

  • permit anyone other than another Authorized User to use the licensed materials but not through your access or your PAWS ID;
  • download or print substantial amounts of the materials or more than a reasonable portion of an item (access to e-resources has been shut off for violations of 100-500 articles downloaded in one session);
  • modify or create a derivative work of licensed content or remove, obscure or modify any copyright or other notices;
  • use the licensed materials for commercial purposes, including, but not limited to, the sale of the licensed materials;
  • upload any licensed materials to an open website, including social networking sites;
  • engage in systematic downloading, distributing, or retaining substantial portions of the licensed materials;
  • use software such as scripts, agents, robots, or spiders to retrieve information;
  • engage in text mining without prior permission.

Faculty, students, and staff with questions about these terms of use for the licensed electronic resources may contact the LSU Libraries Resource Management & Assessment Librarian, Gabriella Lindsay at glinds4@lsu.edu.