Frequently Asked Questions About Course Resources Online (CROs)

Can I mount the material on my own server?
Can I mount exam papers?
How long will it take to have documents mounted on Course Resources Online?
What if I don't want my article mounted in PDF?
How long can my material be made available via CRO?
Linking to Course Resources Online documents
Will everything I request be available Course Resources Online?
Can I put print material on Course Resources Online?
Can I put electronic (CD-ROM) material on Course Resources Online?
Can I link to an article in a full-text database or on the internet?
Can I put one chapter of a book in printed form through DTLS and then put one chapter online through Course Resources Online?
What do I need to do to have material available via Course Resources Online?
What if the material I want is already being used by another staff member?
What if someone else is already using material from the same book?
What if someone else is already using material from the same journal issue?
What if I want to use more than 10% or one chapter of a book, can I mount a different chapter each week?
What if the book I want is out of print?

Will everything I request be available in Course Resources Online?

Regrettably, no. There is a limit of 30 documents for each course. Please contact your Liaison Librarian if you require additional documents to be made available as CRO's.

The Library will also not accept CRO requests for resources that are freely available on the internet or through the library's subscription databases, as these resources do not fall within the guidelines of Course Resources Online. We have created a 'Linking to full-text in online database' guide to assist academic staff in making these resources available to students from a course website,

Also, while the Remuneration (Sampling) Agreement between the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) and the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee includes the right to make copies in digital form or for copies to be communicated to students electronically, we must comply with the limits prescribed in the Copyright Act.

Can I put print material on Course Resources Online?

Yes, but all requests are subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. It is also a legal requirement that all copies include a Copyright Notice as their first page.

In the case of fair dealing for the purposes of "research or study", the Copyright Act specifically provides that it is "fair dealing" to copy:

one article contained in a single journal issue;
two or more articles contained in a single journal issue, if the articles relate to the same area of research or to the same course of study;
from a book of at least 10 pages
- 10% of the total number of pages; or
- where the work is divided into chapters, the whole or part of a single chapter, even if that one chapter exceeds 10% of the pages
10% of the number of words in a work which is in an electronic format.

Source: CQUniversity's Library Guide to the Copyright Act 1968)

For further information on copyright please refer to the University's Copyright web page.

Can I put electronic (CD-ROM) material on Course Resources Online?

Yes, If the work is already in electronic form (eg. an electronic article from a CD ROM) and it is not governed by a subscription agreement or readily available on the internet and all requests are subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. It is also a legal requirement that all copies include a Copyright Notice as their first page.

In the case of fair dealing for the purposes of "research or study", the Copyright Act specifically provides that it is "fair dealing" to copy:

one article contained in a single journal issue;
two or more articles contained in a single journal issue, if the articles relate to the same area of research or to the same course of study;
from a book of at least 10 pages
- 10% of the total number of pages; or
- where the work is divided into chapters, the whole or part of a single chapter, even if that one chapter exceeds 10% of the pages
10% of the number of words in a work which is in an electronic format.

Source: CQUniversity's Library Guide to the Copyright Act 1968)

For further information on copyright please refer to the University's Copyright web page.

Can I link to an article in a full-text database or on the internet?

No, as these resources are easily accessible by all students, linking to them as a CRO does not fall within the guidelines of Course Resources Online.We have created a 'Linking to full-text in online database' guide to assist academic staff in making these resources available to students from course materials,

Can I put one chapter of a book in printed form through DTLS and then put one chapter online through Course Resources Online?

Please refer to the University's Copyright Website. Click on FAQ's in the side menu and then select General Copyright Issues from the list.

Linking to Course Resources Online documents

There are two ways of linking to CRO's from your course website.

openURL to link to the library catalogue record to the article.
link directly to the article itself.

A link to the library catalogue record, which contains the current link to the article, is less likely to change and therefore less likely to need editing in successive course offerings. You can find the instructions on how to create these links from the Linking to Course Resources Online page. If you have any further questions about linking to your articles please contact your Liaison Librarian.

What do I need to do to have material available via Course Resources Online?

Before any material can be scanned and mounted you must first check the library catalogue to ascertain the following

the required material is not already digitised
other material from the same publication is not already in use.

For queries contact the Library's CRO Officer.

If you are satisfied that your request meets these copyright guidelines, all you have to do is enter the details on the CRO Request form,

Please Note:

if any of the above limits prescribed by the Copyright Act are exceeded, the material cannot be mounted by any University unit or employee, unless written permission from the copyright owner is obtained.
the Library will advise you if your request(s) do not meet the copyright guidelines. It is then your responsibility to obtain the necessary copyright permissions and forward them to the library upon receipt.
if the material is already used as resource material for a Distance Education Course please indicate this on the CRO form.
where material is to be mounted on a non-library server, it is your responsibility to obtain the necessary copyright permissions. Please forward these permissions with your CRO requests.
a Copyright Notice will be included as the first page of any scanned file.

How long will it take to have documents mounted on Course Resources Online?

If documents are readily available, ie. you can supply the original source document, it will be available within 5 working days. (Please advise on the CRO form if the document is already being used for a Distance Education course).

If the document is not readily available, ie. it is in a library book which is out on loan or the document has to be obtained by document delivery, the request could take up to 6 weeks. Once a document is online you will be advised by email that it is available for use by students . Obviously, the earlier you place your request(s) the better.

Can I mount the material on my own server?

The University is required by law, to ensure that only one digitised copy of any document is made available to the University community. In order to comply with the Act, the University has determined that digitised documents will be centrally managed by the University Library.

For further information on copyright please refer to the University's Copyright web site.

Can I mount exam papers?

No. Past exam papers can not be linked to Course Resources Online.

For further information contact Student Administration or refer to the University's Examinations page and follow the links.

What if the material I want is already being used by another staff member?

The Library will add your course code to the record of the material. As long as a document is stored once it can be accessed by many courses.

What if someone else is already using material from the same book?

Unfortunately, no other part of the same work can be made available online until this first part is taken down. If there is a problem the situation may be resolved by:

negotiating with your colleague. You may wish to use alternative material if the material is to be used in the same term. If the material is to be used in different terms then each document can be mounted for each term as long as no more than the prescribed limit is mounted at any one time.
checking the Library's collection, including full-text databases, to see if any alternative material is available / will suffice.
obtaining alternate material through Document Delivery or other sources.
seeking permission from the publisher. The permission form and letter can be found on the University's Copyright web site under the Compliance section.

What if someone else is already using material from the same journal issue?

Two or more articles in one issue of a periodical may be digitised if they are on the same subject or research topic. If this is not the case then the situation may be resolved by:

negotiating with your colleague. You may wish to use alternative material if the material is being used in the same term. If the material is to be used in different terms then each document can be mounted for each term as long as no more than the prescribed limit is mounted at any one time.
checking the Library's collection, including full-text databases, to see if any alternative material will suffice.
obtaining alternate material through Document Delivery or other sources.
seeking permission from the publisher. The permission form and letter can be found on the University's Copyright web site under the Compliance section.

What if I don't want my article mounted in PDF?

Digitised material can only be stored once by the University. So long as the document is stored in a standard format, such as PDF, HTML, or RTF, there is no problem. A problem may arise where more than one lecturer wants to access the same document in different formats. If agreement cannot be reached over the format of the document, the document will be stored in PDF.

What if I want to use more than 10% or one chapter of a book, can I mount a different chapter each week?

No as this is not in the spirit of the Copyright Act.

What if the book I want is out of print?

So long as the work is out of print or unobtainable in a reasonable timeframe at a reasonable commercial price, greater than 10% or one chapter of the book can be copied.

For further information on copyright please refer to the University's Copyright web site.

How long can my material be made available via CRO?

Basically, the Copyright Act now includes a 12 months deeming provision, which requires payment for all articles and media being communicated via the internet, on an annual basis, irrespective of whether they are being accessed or not.

Non-communicated resources however do not have to be removed from the server, they just has to be unavailable for public display, so articles and media files can be re-linked / re-communicated at any time. This does however require a new CRO request to be submitted.

For further information on copyright please refer to the University's Copyright web site.