Usage rights for electronic resources

Usage Rights Database

Concordia Library’s Usage Rights Database tracks key licensed usage rights for the electronic resources the library subscribes to in a centralized database, and displays those rights in a standardized manner.

When preparing course material for e-reserves or for a course pack, you will be able to verify if you may or may not include a journal article from a particular database or package.

Why do I need the Usage Rights Database?

Use of all electronic resources subscribed to by the Concordia Library are governed by licensing agreements that restrict use to Concordia students, faculty and staff, for educational or research purposes only. As an authorized Concordia user it is your responsibility to ensure that you always use these resources according to the conditions stipulated in the license agreements (permitted and restricted uses).

The Usage Rights Database is essential for the following reasons:

• Multitude of licenses: Concordia University subscribes to hundreds of full-text databases and packages (journal articles, newspaper articles and e-books). For each of these products, Concordia University signs a license with specific terms of use that allows students, faculty and staff to use the materials in these resources for educational or research purposes only.
• Accurate information: It is not always easy to find out what rights are included in each license, but the Usage Rights Database keeps track of exactly what is permitted under the terms of the licensing agreements.
• License compliance: There can be different rights for the same journal found in different databases/packages. The Usage Rights Database is useful when choosing which articles can be included into course reserves for example. Failure to follow the terms of use in licensing agreements allows publishers to suspend access for the entire Concordia University Community.
• Visibility: The usage rights for our databases/packages is readily accessible and easy to understand.

How do I access the usage rights for full-text articles?

When searching in databases for full-text articles, once you click on the button, a new browser window will open bringing you into the Sofia Discovery tool. There will be a list of the packages where the article can be retrieved. A "Notes" link will display under each pakcage name. When opened, the notes field will show the licensing information for that specific package.

How do I access the usage rights for journal titles?

When you enter a journal name on the E-Journals webpage, a “Notes” link will display under each package name. When opened, the notes field will show the licensing information for that specific package.

How do I access the usage rights databases?

When searching the Sofia Discovery tool for a database, looking in the "Access Online" section of the full record will show a "Notes & License Terms" link. When opened, the the licensing information for that specific database wil be displayed.

How do I access the usage rights on the library website?

On the Databases by Subject webpage, there is a link on the left-hand side towards the "Conditions of Use" webpage. And at the bottom of the Databases: Conditions of Use webpage, there is a link towards the Usage Rights Database homepage.

What are the categories of usage?

For each license that we sign at Concordia University, the five most important categories of usage rights will be clearly indicated. Here is an example of a license record for the Cambridge Journals package that can be found in the Usage Rights Database:

In the example above for the Cambridge Journals package, any of its articles could be hosted in an online course reserves system, or added to a course management system (such as Moodle or First Class) or to a course pack, and linking to an article in a Cambridge journal or printing a copy of it for personal use is all permitted by the license.

What is in the database?

Only information that is contained in the license agreement will be found in the Usage Rights Database. These conditions of use generally cover the permitted and restricted uses of the licensed material for online course reserves, course management systems, course packs, linking and making copies. For information about matters that are not covered by the Usage Rights Database, please refer to the Copyright Guide or the Copyright Guide for Thesis Preparation.

The Usage Rights Database is a work in progress and licensing information will be added to it on a continuous basis. Each license (covering a database or a package containing thousands of journal titles) falls into one of these categories:

• CRKN consortial licenses (negotiated at the national level)
• BCI consortial licenses (negotiated at the provincial level here in Quebec)
• Concordia licenses (our locally negotiated licenses)

If you have any questions or comments, we encourage you to contact your subject librarian.