Access to the electronic resources listed on the Libraries’ website and catalog is restricted to current students, staff, and faculty for the purposes of research, teaching, and private study.
Copyright Law (including the protections of fair use) and contractual license agreements govern the access, use, and reproduction of electronic resources. License terms can supersede that which the law allows. Each licensed product may have more specific or additional permissions or prohibitions. All individual patrons must comply with the specific Terms of Use and/or License Agreement for the applicable electronic resource.
| Permitted Use | Prohibited Use |
| Making limited print or electronic copies (such as single articles) | Posting materials on a publicly accessible website or public listservs (mass reproduction and distribution) |
| Sharing reasonable portions with other WashU individuals | Allowing anyone other than authorized users to access the licensed resources, including sharing passwords |
| Posting/sharing links to the article or work | Selling or re-distributing content, or providing it to an employer (commercial use) |
| Use of small amounts of attributed quotes in your own works | Modifying, altering or creating derivatives (such as your own database of materials) without the permission of the licensor |
| Temporarily storing reasonable portions | Using software or other automated tools to systematically download or retain substantial portions of information licensed content, such as robots or spiders (see Text and Data Mining Guide) |
EndNote Users: Using the “Find Full Text” feature in EndNote is viewed by vendors as “excessive” downloading. This will result in the IP address to be blocked. Do not use the bulk/batch download “Find Full Text” feature.
Each patron is responsible for ensuring they use these products solely for noncommercial, educational, scholarly or research use. All other University policies pertaining to computer use and conduct are applicable in the use of Library computer terminals and electronic resources. Violation may result in loss of access to these resources for the entire Washington University community. Patrons are individually responsible for their compliance with the terms and conditions of use.
Some resources may require patrons to agree directly to individual Terms of Use; this is often presented as a pop-up or re-direct on the vendor’s website that prompts users to click ‘I Agree’ to additional terms. This means an agreement could be between an individual and a vendor (i.e., the Library may not be party to the agreement). Review the terms on the resource's website for further use guidelines.