Have you ever logged into the library at your alma mater or visited a nearby state college to download the latest journal articles you need for your day job? Many people working with smaller organizations use academic connections to get “free” articles—but what they don’t may not realize is that the university had to pay—often quite a lot—to get them that resource.
Colleges and universities of all sizes and sorts pay publishers subscription fees so that library users can access print and/or online journals and books. Those subscription licenses are granted with the agreement that library users are students and faculty who access library resources for teaching, learning, research, and other educational endeavors. The more a library uses, the more they pay (upwards of 7 figures for large institutions).
What is commercial use?
Academic institutions pay licensing fees for the printed and online resources intended to support their research and educational programs. However, even if you’re a part-time instructor, staff member, or student at any level, your university library is not considered a legitimate resource for your off-campus job, start-up business, or even non-affiliated nonprofit.
Except for any official partnership between a university and a corporation, the commercial use of academic library materials is technically prohibited. That includes anything you might read online with alumni library access or download from your local college for use in your full-time job–which constitute copyright violations.
The fallout
Ultimately, when you read or download articles that your favorite university library has paid for, the biggest harm is higher prices for that university. Just like the “fair use” disclaimers that once adorned library copy machines, librarians try to make visitors aware that academic library resources cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Although it may not be obvious, it’s your college or university that bears the cost of the papers you read, whether commercial use is granted within the publisher license or not.
And publishers are benefiting either way, whether you mooch off your library or pay them directly—it’s the university that stands to lose the most in this scenario.
Next time you head to your university library to read papers for work, consider this: Would you be willing to steal lab equipment, furniture, or computers from your local university? If not, then you may want to consider more legitimate routes to accessing peer-reviewed literature for your commercial work. And DeepDyve is here to help!