Check it Out:

Help patrons to access free and legal resources!

man holding clapper board
Photo by Martin Lopez on Pexels.com

Keeping up with copyright can be a challenge. And the easy access to so many sources of information seems wonderful – but if the source is sharing illegally obtained material, or if the user grabs things and uses them illegally, it helps to spoil the whole internet experience. Plus, copyright is a nice thing of course; not stealing ideas and material from creators is great. But it is also federal law, and the financial penalties for violation can be pretty steep. And of course, hanging out on websites that are doing illegal things can often mean those websites are dropping malware and viruses and all sorts of other bad things on the computers of our users.

It will help our patrons to make the best decisions if you help to share sources of material that is free and legal. This excerpt below is from a resource from Educause, called “Legal Sources of Online Content.”

“The Higher Education Opportunity Act requires all colleges and universities to offer legal alternatives to unauthorized downloading. The bullets below include legitimate online services that are approved by the AAP, MPAA, and RIAA. No endorsement or evaluation is intended. To suggest additions or provide other input, contact libraryrequests@educause.edu.

Note: Some of the sites listed provide some or all content at no charge; they are funded by advertising or represent artists who want their material distributed for free, or for other reasons. Just because content is free doesn’t mean it’s illegal. On the other hand, you may find websites offering to sell content which are not on the list below. Just because content is not free doesn’t mean it’s legal.”

Legal Alternatives for Downloading

For the rest of this material from Educause, you can find the full page here!