Fondren Library subscribes to thousands of electronic journals, books, datasets, and other databases for use by authorized users (typically restricted to current faculty, students, and staff and, in most cases, on-site visitors). The terms and conditions for using these resources are set out in electronic resource license agreements that the Library signs with each publisher.
Researcher Responsibilities
Breaches of the university’s contractual arrangements with publishers could result in the suspension of access to the resources for the entire Rice community, and legal liability for the university or its users. It is the responsibility of individual authorized users to ensure that their use of electronic resources does not breach the terms and conditions specified in the license agreements.
Licenses vary from publisher to publisher; however, in general the following applies:
Generally Permitted
- uses consistent with the fair use provisions of the United States Copyright Act
- viewing, downloading, copying, printing, and saving a copy of search results
- viewing, downloading, copying, printing, and saving individual articles
- using e-resources for scholarly, educational, or scientific research, teaching, private study, and clinical purposes
- sending a copy of an article to another authorized user (i.e. current faculty, students, or staff)
- posting the URL to the publisher’s version of the article on a restricted class website (publisher links will allow only authorized users access)
- modifying the resource format in compliance with accessibility laws
Generally Not Permitted
The following activities generally are not permitted. Further, engaging in any of the activities included in the list below may result in an immediate suspension of the user’s access to online library resources.
- use of robots or intelligent agents to do systematic, bulk, or automatic downloading of content
- systematic downloading or printing of entire journal issues or volumes, or large portions of other e-resources
- using e-resources for commercial gain (i.e. reselling, redistributing, or republishing licensed content, as well as any other uses that are intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation).
- transmitting, disseminating, or otherwise making online content available to unauthorized users (i.e. emailing to lists, posting to external websites or social media)
- posting the publisher's version or PDF of an article to a website on the open web (instead, post the URL to the article which will allow only authorized users access)
- removing, obscuring, or modifying any copyright or other notices included in the materials
- sharing passwords/log-in information with unauthorized users
Computational Research Support and API Access
Some publishers and database providers allow bulk or automatic downloading of content but only under additional restrictions or through an API. Please contact us (see below) for more information about our providers' bulk download and API terms and conditions.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The University endeavors to secure AI usage and training rights across all of our e-resource licenses. However, the scope of AI rights vary, and licenses may not allow for use or training of their content with AI tools.
Before using artificial intelligence - including AI tools provided by Rice - with any licensed Library resource, please contact us (see below) for more information about governing terms and people who can help you explore options.
Getting Help
- Contact your Subject Librarian for help locating appropriate and available resources before you begin your research project.
- For questions regarding permissions and access for content licensed by Rice or to obtain or seek assistance with negotiating permission for your intended use, contact Scott Vieira, Head of Collections and Content Strategy, and/or Amanda McClendon, Senior Electronic Resources Librarian.
- For questions regarding technical considerations and AI research strategy, contact Sean Smith, Senior Facilitator for Research Data and AI.
- For questions regarding copyright and fair use, contact Shannon Kipphut-Smith, Senior Scholarly Communication Librarian.
- For additional guidance on text and data mining, see Fondren’s TDM research guide.
Be aware that some publishers may charge for access to data.
Related University Guidance
Policy #832: Appropriate Use of Information Technology
This guidance is for informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice. When in doubt, always contact library staff for assistance with specific situations.
This guidance (released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License) was adapted from “Before you scrape and before you train…” by Timothy Vollmer and “Conditions of use and licensing restrictions for electronic resources” by University of California Berkeley Library, both licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License.