You may use a work in your teaching if: 

• The work is not copyrightable.  
• You are the copyright owner of the material.
• The item is in the Public Domain in the U.S.
• The copyright holder has made the material available under a copyright license that allows use without permission.
• The material is covered by a license or contract that permits classroom use.
• You have obtained permission from the copyright holder for your use of the material.
• Your use of the copyrighted material falls under the Fair Use Exemption or a Teaching Exemption. 

Cornell University Library Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States: This chart created by Peter B. Hirtle is helpful for determining the copyright status of an item based on whether the item is published or unpublished, what type of item it is, where it was published, when it was created or published, and other characteristics. More details regarding the chart itself can be found in the footnotes on this page. 

American Library Association: Copyright Tools: The American Library Association maintains this site with information on tools like the Public Domain Slider.

These resources can help you find material in the public domain or with a license that allows for use without permission from the copyright holder. Attribution may or may not be required based on the license, but it is best practice to always attribute the source.

Creative Commons: Learn more about Creative Commons (CC) licenses on their website. 

UAMS Library Image Resources Guide: If you are looking for images specifically, this guide provides links to many sources of historical, medical, and non-medical images that you may want to use in the classroom. Included are resources available through UAMS Library subscriptions as well as open access and public domain sources.

Digital Libraries and/or Institutional Repositories: Like the online collections of the Historical Research Center at UAMS, many institutions provide access to digitized content via institutional repositories or digital collections. Many times the copyright status of items within these repositories/collections will be provided in the metadata. The World Digital Library, DPLA, Europeana, NYPL Digital Collections, Internet Archive, and HathiTrust are all examples of digital libraries that may include CC or public domain content (primary sources, books, videos, images, and more). On some sites, like NYPL Digital Collections, you can even filter your search to show only public domain results. Just make sure you know the copyright status of an item found within any of these sources before reuse. Each site also has further guidance regarding rights and reuse available in their FAQ or Help sections. 

Wikimedia Commons: A source for public domain or CC licensed images, sounds, videos, and more. More details on reusing content found in Wikimedia Commons is available on their Reuse page. 

OER Commons: An online library of open educational resources and instructional materials. Most OER materials found in the OER Commons have a Creative Commons license or other permission to let you know how the material may be used, reused, adapted, and shared. 

Open Textbook Library: Textbooks in the Open Textbook Library are considered open because they are free to use and distribute, and are licensed to be freely adapted or changed with proper attribution. (GNU or CC licenses)

YouTube: You may use the Creative Commons filter to search for CC licensed videos on YouTube. The Creative Commons filter is underneath Features when you click on Filters in a search. Look for the license in the description section of videos found using this filter to know what is allowed and what is required for reuse of a particular video. 

Vimeo: Browse the Creative Commons licensed videos on Vimeo. Learn about what you can and can't do with other people’s videos on Vimeo to help you share, rework and reuse legally.

Videvo: A searchable database of stock video footage, Videvo content includes License, Usage, and Author information so that you know how you may reuse the content. 

Free Music Archive: Free Music Archive (FMA), founded in 2009 by radio station WFMU, offers free access to open licensed, original music. Types of uses of music found on FMA vary and are determined by the rights-holders themselves (please see their FAQ). Generally, CC license information an be found for each recording in FMA. 

There are many resources available through UAMS Library subscriptions. The Library's A to Z Digital Resources list provides access to databases, journals, clinical resources, and more. Some particular favorite resources for content you may want to use in your courses include: AccessMedicine, ClinicalKey, STAT!Ref, AccessPharmacy, AccessPhysiotherapy, and Thieme Clinical Collections. You may also find eBooks and other resources for teaching by searching in the Library Catalog or with our eBooks and eJournals by Title (or subject) option. 

Refer to our Subject Guides for more resource ideas particular to your field. 

Instead of sharing materials with students directly, link to its parent site instead. This is a great practice in many cases, but especially with copyrighted materials that are accessible via UAMS Library subscriptions- like databases, eBooks, videos, etc. - because you still must follow the terms of a license/agreement when using material available through UAMS Library subscriptions. 

To link to an eBook, multimedia content, or article available through one of the Library's resources, look for an option to access a permalink from within the resource. If no such option exists, you could copy the url from the browser search bar. Make sure however, that whatever link you plan to share with students includes the library proxy information in the url (http://libproxy.uams.edu/login?url= at the beginning of the url). This will allow students to access the material even when off campus by prompting them to login. 

Alternatively, if there is a catalog record for an electronic item, you could provide a link to the item in the catalog and then students can access the resource by clicking on "Online Version" from within the catalog record. 

One other alternative is to provide students with a bibliography and then let them access the materials on their own through the library resources, as long as you know that the included items are available through a library subscription or are open access. Education & Research Services faculty are happy to give a Library Orientation or class on Using Library Resources to introduce your students to how to access materials via our databases and other digital resources. 

If you have determined that permission is needed to use material in your teaching, first identify the copyright owner/s. 

For materials with the publisher as the copyright holder, look for rights, reuse, or permissions information/policies on their website. They may provide online forms for requesting permission or at least a contact email for requesting permission. 

For materials with the author/creator as the copyright holder, contact the author directly. 

If there is no permission form available on a publisher's website or if you are asking for permission directly from an author, here are some tips for creating a letter asking for permission: 

• Give information on your title and role at UAMS
• Describe the specific material for which permission is asked. For example, give details like: 
  • Author or creator
  • Book, image, or article title
  • Volume and issue number if applicable
  • Year of creation or publication
  • Page numbers
  • Figure or table numbers
  • Location of the material (such as a url)
• Specify the use/right for which you are asking permission such as: distribution in printed form or as downloadable material on a website (note if the site is protected by password) or incorporation into online course materials or a publication.
• Note the length of time you are requesting for the identified use of the material, often called the "term of use" 

These guides from other libraries may be useful to reference: 

University of Texas Libraries Copyright Crash Course: Getting Permission

Columbia University Libraries Copyright Advisory Services: Asking for Permission