E-Resources Usage Policy

QA805 E-Resources Usage Policy

Procedures

Increasingly the scholarly information resources that the Library makes available to you are provided online as e-resources, e.g., 300,000 e-books and 70,000 e-journals through many databases. These resources are acquired under agreed license conditions agreed between the University of Galway and the publisher. These licenses clearly state the conditions and responsibilities University of Galway users agree to while accessing content in these resources. This Policy outlines these conditions for usage.

Permitted Uses

As a current member of the University of Galway faculty, staff or student body it is generally acceptable to:

• Use the Library’s subscribed e-resources for scholarly, educational or scientific research, teaching, private study and clinical purposes
• Make a limited number of electronic copies of material for personal non-commercial use
• Share single copies of articles with other individual current University of Galway faculty staff and students
• Link to specific content hosted on the publisher’s/vendor’s site

Prohibited Uses

It is not acceptable to:

• Download large amounts of material in a systematic manner (e.g., entire books or journal issues, or large-scale downloading from e-resources to create a body of data somewhere else)
• To use robots, spiders or intelligent agents to access, search and/or systematically download from these resources
• Use content from e-resources for commercial purposes, re-publish, redistribute or alter content
• Remove, alter or obscure the copyright notice
• In any way make content from e-resources available to non-University of Galway current users, for example: 
  • by posting fullt ext content online on any website, listserv, mailing list, etc. 
  • by forwarding via email or storage device any full text material contained in an e-resource.
  • by sharing your Campus Account login credentials to allow others to login with the potential of accessing the Library’s subscribed e-resources
• Use e-resource content for other purposes that violate the University of Galway guidelines
• Many licenses prohibit the downloading and posting of licensed content on another server, even if for use in secure sites like BlackBoard. In general, it is required to create a link in a course module that points back to the original publisher/vendor website

You are encouraged to look for the "Terms of Use" link (or similar) found in many resources for more specific information regarding standard Fair Usage guidelines of e-resources. You should also familiarise yourself with the NUI Galway ICT Regulations.

It is the responsibility of every member of the University of Galway staff and student body to ensure their Campus Account Credentials are not used in breach of any terms and conditions listed above. Be aware that claiming a lack of awareness of the above Usage Policy does not constitute an excuse for lack of adherence.
Publishers and vendors automatically monitor the use of e-resources to ensure that the terms of use are being adhered to. Breach of license will cause the vendor to block the entire community of the University of Galway from accessing these resources.

Additionally, any person who violates the terms and conditions of the Library’s E-Resources Usage Policy as outlined above may find themselves subject to NUI Galway disciplinary procedures.

Click here to sign into your Campus Account.

Download PDF copy of the policy: QA805 E-Reosurces Usage Policy‌‌