Use of electronic resources including databases, journals, books and multimedia subscribed by the Education University of Hong Kong Library (hereafter referred to as “the EdUHK Library”) is subject to copyright laws and licence agreements. Violation of the licence agreements may result in the suspension of access to e-resources for the whole University.
Licence Agreements
The use of Library-subscribed e-resources is governed by licence agreements negotiated between the EdUHK Library and the publishers/vendors.
Publishers/vendors routinely monitor use of their online products to protect their intellectual property. It is critical that all authorized users abide by the terms of the Library’s license agreements and this policy to ensure that the entire EdUHK community has access to electronic resources without interruption.
Prohibited Uses
Complying with the copyright regulations, users may download, save, or print reasonable portions of text, search results, and other information from the Library’s online resources for studying, teaching, and/or research purposes.
Authorized users must be aware that licences generally prohibit the following uses:
- Sharing your library login and passwords with unauthorized users
- Redistributing information from a licensed online resources to unauthorized users
- Systematic or excessive downloading, copying, and/or archiving of substantial portions of online resources in any form or medium. Examples of systematic or excessive use include:
- Continuously downloading one article after another;
- Continuously downloading tables of contents, search results, citations, or output;
- Downloading entire issues or volumes of an e-journal;
- Downloading the entire contents of an e-book or multimedia resource
- Using a spider or crawler program to capture data
- Altering, abridging, adapting, copying, modifying, reselling, republishing of any online resources in any form or medium
Violation of the agreements will cause the following
- Abuse of these terms could result in a suspension of access to a resource for the entire University.
- Users are fully responsible for any legal consequences arising from infringement of applicable copyright laws.
- The Library reserves the right to restrict, suspend or revoke the individual user’s access to all e-resources.
Authorized Users
Licensed e-resources are provided for the use of the current EdUHK staff and students associated with valid user login authorized by the EdUHK. Alumni library card holders may only access to selected licensed e-resources. Others may use online resources on library premises when allowed by the publisher/vendor.
On and Off-Campus Access
Access to the resources licenced by the Library is provided on campus through the computer terminals on campus.
Off-campus access to the Library’s electronic resources is also available for authorized users as defined by the licence agreements. Such access requires the user to login using his or her EdUHK ID and password. This login verifies that the off-campus user is a part of the licensed user group of the EdUHK.
Disclaimer
The EdUHK Library will not be liable for users’ inappropriate use of electronic resources or violations of copyright restrictions or other laws, users’ mistakes or negligence, and costs incurred by users.