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Library Procedure and Terms of Use

Terms of Use

Use of all Unitec library web sites and online resources must comply with the Library Procedure and all other Unitec policies relating to use of computers, computer software, or online resources and applications.

Terms and Conditions for Articles from Databases, Ejournals and Ebooks

The Library's databases, ejournals and ebooks may be used only by current staff and students of Unitec:

  • Students must be currently enrolled in an approved course of study
  • Staff must have a valid Unitec network log-in

Associate members (retired permanent staff, graduates, contract workers) - have access to open access resources only.

Usage guidelines:
In general, it is LEGAL to:

  • Download and save and/or print portions of content. For example, one or two articles from a journal issue, or one chapter of an ebook, for personal use
  • Share content with other Unitec students and staff using the article URL (this does not include teaching via Moodle - see below)
  • Use content for Unitec-related assignments, research or instruction

In general it is ILLEGAL to:

  • Share your Unitec username and password with anyone
  • Post content to any non-secure public space such as a website or blog
  • Use content for commercial purposes, or for the benefit of any party external to Unitec Institute of Technolgoy
  • Distribute content to anyone who is not affiliated with Unitec, including non-Unitec employers
  • Use content without citing the source
  • Remove or obscure copyright notices
  • Make multiple copies of content for electronic or hard copy distribution or storage
  • Modify content or create derivative works
  • Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, modify, or translate the source code to create derivative works.

For Teaching:

Different databases (publishers) have different licence permissions, meaning:

  • Sometimes you can share URLs or upload pdfs of journals articles to Moodle, but sometime you cannot
  • Sometimes you can make multiple copies of articles, but sometimes you cannot

To check

  • Find the vendor (publisher) of the database you are using
  • Check for the licence permissions
    • Multiple copying?
    • URL linking into Moodle?
    • PDF onto Moodle?
  • If in doubt, contact the library

Sharing for scholarly purposes:

When sharing with Unitec colleagues:

  • email a link to the article, as emailing a PDF or photocopying an article may breach copyright

Linking ensures:

  • You are within the publisher's licence parameters.
  • The library can track usage statistics, so we know which journals are most used by staff and students at Unitec

More information:

Unitec Library Disclaimer

Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, the contents are subject to review and change from time to time. Unitec Library makes no warranties or representations, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy of information contained on its website or associated web based guides, services or applications.

Access to most licensed databases and electronic journals from the Library website passes through the Library's proxy server, called EZproxy. Occasionally access to online resources may be impaired due to computer network issues or application bugs. Please let us know.