Terms of Use

Adding content to Scholars Archive

If you are a Scholars Archive contributor with copyright questions about depositing work, then please contact us at scholcomm@albany.edu.

Using content found in Scholars Archive

Materials in Scholars Archive are free to read and download, by anyone, anywhere in the world, and anyone is welcome to link to them. Where available, licensing terms associated with the content is indicated on a per-work basis with a link to the license terms.

Generally, all our content is protected by copyright. If you’re interested in republishing or reusing it in other ways:

Check for a Creative Commons license. Authors may have chosen to encourage broad use of their work by applying a Creative Commons license to it. In those cases, you will find the appropriate Creative Commons badge in the item’s record. If the author has chosen such a license, it will specify which kinds of uses (e.g., commercial or noncommercial) the author wants to allow. You may find additional information about Creative Commons on their website.

Consider whether your use is fair use. Many common scholarly uses, such as including a short quotation, are allowed without permission. You can learn more about fair use at the University at Albany’s Copyright LibGuide.

Contact the copyright holder for permission (see below) if there is no Creative Commons license and your use exceeds fair use.

Who owns the copyright for works in Scholars Archive?

Authors do not transfer copyright to Scholars Archive for works that are published or deposited here. If you need permission for republication or another use of a work found on Scholars Archive, we cannot give it to you.

In most cases, the author of the item will be the copyright holder. The item’s description will include the author’s name, but not their contact information. Sometimes the item itself will include contact information, like an email address. If not, you will need to use another source, like the directory at the author’s institution. University Libraries staff are unable to assist in locating or providing contact information that is not already displayed on the site.

Other possible copyright holders include:

  • The University at Albany, for example, if the copyright was transferred or created as a work for hire.
  • Publishers not affiliated with the University at Albany, for example, if an author transferred their copyright to a publisher, but still had the rights to post the item in Scholars Archive.

If you’re not sure, look for a copyright statement on the item.

What if I found something that shouldn’t be in Scholars Archive?

If you are the copyright owner for a work that you believe has been included in Scholars Archive improperly, then please contact us.

Contact Us

Please contact the University at Albany Libraries with any questions or feedback about Scholars Archive: scholcomm@albany.edu.

THE INFORMATION PRESENTED ON THIS PAGE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.