Links & Hyperlinks

In a 2011 decision from the Supreme Court of Canada, regarding the case  Crookes v. Newton, it was determined that “hyperlinks are, in essence, references, which are fundamentally different from other acts of publication. Hyperlinks and references both communicate that something exists, but do not, by themselves, communicate its content. A hyperlink, by itself, should never be seen as ‘publication’ of the content to which it refers”.

Rather than reproducing online content, simply provide students with a link or hyperlink to where the content exists.

Library eResources & Persistent Links

The Library subscribes to numerous eResources which provide access to digital content like audio files, eBooks, and journal articles.

To access these eResources and the digital content they contain, you will be prompted to log in by entering your SLC.me username and password. The url that will appear at the top of your screen is specific to your logged in session. To share digital content with students, provide them with a Persistent Link in your Blackboard course site by using the Permalink, or Digital Object Identifier (DOI) functions.

Permalink: 

DOI: 

Images from the CENGAGE GALE family of databases.

When students click on the persistent link, they will be transferred directly to the content you selected after logging in with their SLC.me username and password. Providing Persistent Links is the most effective way to share content from library eResources with students.

Coursepacks are custom packages of materials collected for a course usually used in replacement of/for a text. For coursepack photocopying no copying can exceed 10% of a published work or the following, whichever is greater:

• An entire newspaper article or a page
• An entire single short story, play, poem, essay or article from a book or periodical issue (including a set of conference proceedings) containing other works
• An entire entry from an encyclopedia, dictionary, annotated bibliography or similar reference work
• An entire reproduction of an artistic work (including drawing, sculpture, painting, prints, architectural works of art or works of artistic craftsmanship) from a book or periodical issue containing other works

Please note that all limits are based on a lifetime time-frame. You may not copy the percentages allowed on an ongoing basis. Cumulative copying is not allowed.

All printing of coursepacks including checking of all allowable percentages are now handled through Ricoh.

Class sets of Harvard and Ivey Business Case Studies have to be purchased and they cannot be reproduced or communicated to students through Blackboard. Here are some great online resources that offer case studies whose use is free and unrestricted:

• MIT Sloan Teaching Innovation Resources
• National Science Teaching Association
• World Advertising Research Centre
• World Resources Institute

The decision from the Supreme Court of Canada in the case  Alberta (Education) v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright), 2012 SCC37, expanded Fair Dealing to include the distribution of handouts: reproductions of short excerpts from published works that faculty distribute to students. Handouts are intended to supplement required or core course materials. A Course Pack should be produced if you are using a significant number of handouts in class or your core course materials consist solely of handouts.

Please note that you must adhere to the Copyright/Fair Dealing Policy to ensure that the short excerpt you wish to reproduce and distribute is likely to be considered a fair amount of the original work. You must also acknowledge the original source from which the excerpt was reproduced (citing examples are below).

In an effort to establish a learning environment that is technologically neutral, short excerpts that adhere to the  Copyright/Fair Dealing Policy may be communicated to students via Blackboard as digital handouts. The short excerpt must represent a fair amount of its original source and the original source of the short excerpt must be cited (citing examples are below). Permission from the copyright owner is required in order to reproduce and communicate anything that exceeds the limits of the  Copyright/Fair Dealing Policy.

This guide has been adapted from the CLO Learning Portal Copyright page (archived) and the Faculty Toolkit.

This site was designed solely for informational purposes for St. Lawrence College faculty, staff and students. All other users are encouraged to check and confirm the information with their institution(s). This site is prepared by library staff and is not reviewed by legal counsel.