Shalom, From time to time there are postings to the list asking for people who have access to a particular database or print journal to locate and send specific articles. I have wondered about the propriety of responding to such requests. It is certainly admirable if someone is willing to devote their time to helping a fellow librarian obtain information. But in many cases, online databases are commercial products for which libraries pay subscription fees, and are required by contract to limit access to users within their own institutional network. I'm not familiar with the fine print of the contracts, but I surmise that there may be a problem in forwarding materials to people outside the institution. [If Nevo, or other resources, are freely available, then of course this objection would not apply]. I don't recall whether this issue has been discussed here. Is anyone able to shed light on this matter? Are there professional guidelines regarding forwarding of subscription material? Is this a legal question, or one of professional ethics?
Sincerely Yosef Branse University of Haifa Library --- Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: hasaf...@osu.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
