Blackboard, CSUDH's learning management system, makes providing students with access to digital course materials very convenient. The University Library is happy to assist faculty in ensuring that their students have timely and convenient access to the resources they need, when possible.
There are a few things to consider before adding content to your course shell:
- Electronic library resources: If the article or chapter you wish to upload is content we provide access to at the library, please do not upload a PDF, as doing so likely will be in violation of our licensing agreement with the vendor. Instead, please provide a link to the article in Blackboard. If you need help creating a link for Blackboard, please see our Online Resources for Faculty guide or contact your liaison librarian.
Alternately, you may place library licensed digital content on electronic course reserve. Our Reserves and e-Reserves web page provides all the information you need to place materials on reserve.
- Print library resources and non-library resources: When determining whether it is permissible to upload copyrighted content to Blackboard (provided you haven't explicitly obtained permission from the copyright holder), it is essential to determine whether your proposed use qualifies as Fair Use. For a full explanation of Fair Use and guidelines for determining the status of the materials you'd like to use, please see the "Fair Use-4 Factors" tab in this guide.
You are free to post upload works residing in the Public Domain. Please note that reprints and editions may still be under copyright, and so you need to confirm that the edition you are using is truly in the public domain.
