I want to put together a coursepack for my class. What do I need to do?

If the materials you want to include in your coursepack are available electronically through the library, we recommend linking to the articles, rather than creating a print coursepack. Providing students with links to articles in our databases does not require seeking any additional permissions or printing fees.*

Print coursepacks are generally considered outside of fair use for copyright, so you would need to secure a license or permission for each work you include in the coursepack. Even if a work is out of print, you still need permission. There are a few exceptions, such as with public domain works whose copyright term has expired (eg: works published before 1924), or works with a creative commons license, but more than likely, you will need to secure permission.

Please note, most publishers charge fees for permissions. Charges are usually assessed for each student in your class and are commonly 15-25 cents per page used. These fees will need to be paid before the coursepacks are printed. To secure permission, try the Copyright Clearance Center which represents many publishers. You may also need to contact the copyright holder directly. It can take up to two months to secure permission directly from publishers, so you should start the process as soon as possible! The library is happy to help with securing permission upon request.

Once you have secured all of the necessary permissions, you can submit your coursepack to Print Services for printing. Please see Print Services if you have questions about the printing of the coursepacks.

*Please note that articles in our databases from the Harvard Business Review are the only exception to this rule and still require acquiring permissions, due to a separate license agreement.