University of New South Wales - Library - MyCourse (Reserve) Services FAQ

Please check the information below for answers to questions often asked about MyCourse.

MyCourse is now essentially an electronic collection. What digital formats are included?
What sort of physical items remain in MyCourse?
Does it include lecture notes, tutorial notes and solutions (including Powerpoints)?
What are the copyright restrictions?
What are the alternatives when material exceeds the limits?
May copyright material be scanned to course web sites?
How do I link to digitised material from my course web site?
How can I assist students to link directly to articles in electronic journals?
What about charts, diagrams, graphs taken from copyright documents for use in lecture notes, Powerpoints etc.?
When should I submit my Study kit for copyright checking?
When should I submit my required readings?

MyCourse is now essentially an electronic collection. What digital formats are included?

Links to articles in electronic journals to which the UNSW Library subscribes
Digitised journal articles and book chapters (copyright and licences permitting)
Links to web sites
Past examination papers

What sort of physical items remain in MyCourse?

Books - both UNSW items and lecturers' private copies
Study kits checked by MyCourse Services for compright compliance
Photocopies of journal articles and book chapters that cannot be made available electronically due to copyright or licence agreement restrictions

Does it include lecture notes, tutorial notes and solutions (including Powerpoints)?

No. Lecture notes etc. fall outside the scope of our service. If a digital version is required it should reside on a course server. While copyright protected artistic works such as diagrams, graphs, illustrations within lecture notes etc. are allowed on local servers, textual copyright material (beyond insubstantial amounts such as quotations) must be handled by the Library. Links can then be made from course servers to the Library server using the URLs in MyCourse bibliographic records.

What are the copyright restrictions?

See the UNSW Library copyright guidelines.

What are the alternatives when material exceeds the limits?

If copyright restrictions prevent material from being copied, several options remain:

It may be possible to communicate a greater proportion of the work if it is out of print or permission has been granted by the copyright owner
Printing copies may be possible because of the slightly less restrictive limits for hard copy items
As a last resort it may be necessary to place original volumes in the MyCourse collection.

May copyright material be scanned to course web sites?

No. To ensure compliance with the Copyright Act (1968) a centralised approach is required as mandated by the VCAC in 2002.

How do I link to digitised material from my course web site?

Contact the MyCourse Services team for assistance.

How can I assist students to link directly to articles in electronic journals?

There are two ways and you may choose to use both or either:

Send a request for inclusion of a record and link in MyCourse
Contact MyCourse Services staff to obtain the URL to use in your course web site.

What about charts, diagrams, graphs taken from copyright documents for use in lecture notes, Powerpoints etc.?

Charts, diagrams, graphs etc. (which are considered artistic works for copyright purposes) may be placed on course servers provided:

If copied from hardcopy format, they have not been published separately, or, if they have been published separately and after reasonable investigation they cannot be purchased within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price (copying from an electronic version requires no investigation)

and

a Copyright Warning Notice is displayed prior to, or at the same time as, an artistic work. Use with each artistic work if they can be separately accessed

and

they are fully referenced.

When should I submit my Study kit for copyright checking?

At least 6 weeks before session begins to ensure copies are available in the Bookshop on day 1 of session.

When should I submit my required readings?

At least 3 weeks before session begins to ensure they are processed in time.