Access to electronic information resources such as abstracting and indexing databases, electronic journals and electronic books is subject to copyright law and licence agreements. Exact licence terms vary from one publisher to another, but in general they authorise use of the resource by current students and staff of the institution for the purposes of academic research and teaching as long as you adhere to copyright regulations. Use of an e-resource for commercial purposes, by unauthorised users or for excessive downloading is explicitly prohibited.

Information on the individual terms and conditions of use for each resource is usually available directly from the electronic resource itself, either from the copyright attribution statement or the 'Terms and Conditions' link usually at the top or the bottom of the page.

In addition, details of individual licensing arrangements for selected resources are available from the Library website, by searching for the resource from the eResource & Database Menu.

As a general rule: You may not systematically print or download substantial quantities, or distribute information to unauthorised third parties. Misuse of licensed resources jeopardises access for the entire University and may result in the publisher or vendor withdrawing their service from the University.

Many publishers and vendors have the capability to monitor excessive downloading and will contact us if they suspect an abuse by a registered user. The University monitors access to external e-resources to prevent or detect crime (see Guideline 4 of the 'Guidelines for Use of IT Facilities').