To: Members of Brown University
Members of the Brown community are reminded to be diligent regarding agreements the University has with vendors of electronic services and software. The Library currently makes available more than 12,000 ejournals and 275 third party proprietary databases. CIS offers many site licenses for software. Behind each of these services are license agreements which govern how the material can be used by individuals. These are, in effect, contracts, which are legal and binding documents between you and the software/service provider. Some carry specific limitations such as the purposes for which downloaded material can be used or the number of records that can be downloaded at any one time. Electronic resource providers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in monitoring use of their services; their ability to detect violations should not be underestimated. Additionally, such infringing uses of university resources and networks are contrary to Brown’s acceptable use policies and may result in sanctions being imposed by the University and or revocation of network privileges by the University.
The Library provides notice to users about licensing limitations through links from its web page. Some resources actually carry click through licensing terms which must be accepted before proceeding. Users have an obligation to read, be aware of, and observe the terms and conditions of use for all electronic resources. Software also carries agreements which should be read and understood before download takes place. Failure to take note and observe such terms and conditions of use puts the individual user at risk and potentially could result in termination of service to the entire campus. During the last year, services have been suspended to the entire campus more than once due to the actions of a single individual. We remind all members of the Brown community to please be aware of your legal obligations so that service will not be jeopardized for others. This is something to be taken seriously.
Ellen Waite-Franzen
Vice President, Computing & Information Services
Harriette Hemmasi
University Librarian