About Us / Library Policies / Policies Governing E-Resources Access and Use

Policies Governing E-Resources Access and Use

E-Resources Access and Use

 
Most of the library’s electronic resources (e-resources) are governed by license agreements that limit use of these resources.  The License Review Steering Committee negotiates and reviews licenses for the benefit of the Yale Community. The licensed electronic resources made available by Yale Library are for the personal, clinical, research, scholarly, or instructional activities of current Yale University or Yale-New Haven Hospital faculty, staff, students and other authorized users.  The misuse and violation of prohibited uses may result in loss of access to these resources for the entire Yale community. The Yale University Information Technology Appropriate Use Policy prohibits violations of these license agreements.
 

e-Resources Use Guidelines
Generally Permitted* Uses
Generally Prohibited Uses
  • Downloading insubstantial amounts (NOT entire journals or books)
     
  • Temporarily storing reasonable portions
     
  • Use of small amounts of attributed quotes in your own works
     
  • Sharing reasonable portions with other Yale individuals
     
  • Posting/sharing links to the article or work
  • Sharing passwords, access codes, giving access to non-Yale individuals
     
  • Systematic downloading by use of scripts, scraping, or robots
     
  • Sharing proprietary or client software connected to information resources (e.g. those used to analyze spatial data or search and retrieve texts)
     
  • Creating derivatives (such as your own database of materials)
     
  • Mass reproduction and distribution
     
  • Posting materials on a publicly accessible website or public listservs
*Copyright Law (including the protections of “fair use”) AND contractual license agreements govern the access, use, and reproduction of these resources. License terms can supersede that which the law allows.
EACH USER IS RESPONSIBLE for ENSURING that they use THESE PRODUCTS SOLELY for NONCOMMERCIAL, EDUCATIONAL, SCHOLARLY OR RESEARCH use.  Material breach of authorized terms and conditions of use may also subject the violator to institutional disciplinary procedures and personal liability in judicial proceedings.

End User License Agreements

Each licensed product may have more specific or additional permissions or prohibitions. Some resources may require users to agree directly to individual Terms of Use; this is often presented as a pop-up or re-direct on the vendor’s website that prompts users to click ‘I Agree’ to the additional terms. This means an agreement could be between an individual and a vendor (i.e., the Library may not be party to the agreement). Review the terms on the resource’s website for use and access guidelines.

Artificial Intelligence and Text and Data Mining or Analysis

The library works diligently to review, negotiate, and license materials for educational, scholarly, and research purposes. Recently these purposes include using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and text and data mining or analysis (TDM) on licensed e-resources.  We do our best to secure AI uses and training rights for scholarly research uses across all of our content licenses. The scope of allowances we are able to attain vary, and many licenses may not allow use or training of their material with public (or private) versions of AI, TDM software/programs or other tools.

Before performing an analysis with AI or TDM on any licensed library resource, or if you have any questions about a specific use of Yale’s e-resources, please contact the License Review Steering Committee.

These statements conform with the Yale University Information Technology Appropriate Use Policy (Policy 1607, Information Technology Appropriate Use Policy).

More Information

For more information on existing licenses or questions about appropriate use:

For copyright guidance and information: