How Librarians Use the Fair Use Code to Support OER

Academic librarians serve as critical infrastructure for the open educational resources movement, using the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources as a central tool to support faculty OER creation, provide copyright guidance, establish institutional policies, and advance Zero Textbook Cost initiatives. Rather than viewing fair use as something to avoid, forward-thinking librarians recognize it as an essential tool enabling pedagogically superior OER while they simultaneously invest in openly licensed alternatives. Librarians explicitly endorsed the Code when the Association of Research Libraries adopted it, and academic libraries now employ dedicated OER librarians with expertise in copyright, fair use, open licensing, and scholarly communication. Through consultation, training, infrastructure support, and institutional leadership, librarians use the Code to educate faculty about when and how to incorporate copyrighted materials appropriately into OER, document fair use analyses, establish institutional OER policies, and facilitate Zero Textbook Cost degree programs. This report examines how librarians have positioned themselves as OER leaders and how the Code enables their work.

The Librarian’s Natural Role in OER Leadership

Academic libraries have emerged as the primary institutional homes for OER initiatives. This positioning makes logical sense for multiple reasons:

Why Libraries Lead OER

Existing Infrastructure:

Libraries already hold collections and understand information access
Librarians possess copyright and licensing expertise
Libraries have established relationships with faculty across all disciplines
Libraries manage institutional subscriptions and electronic resources
Libraries house institutional repositories and digital collections

Institutional Evolution:
The role of academic libraries is evolving “from acquisition of information to access to information”. OER represents this evolution: instead of purchasing expensive textbooks through vendors, libraries help faculty create and adopt affordable, accessible alternatives.

Curriculum Development Role:
OER work with librarians “creates more information literate faculty AND students”. Librarians are “often only seen as support staff,” but “OER initiatives allow librarians to highlight their importance in curriculum development”.

Faculty Relationships:
Subject liaison librarians already work across departments. They understand disciplinary needs, pedagogy, and resource constraints in ways uniquely positioned to support OER creation and adoption.

Librarian Knowledge Areas Supporting OER

Copyright and Licensing:

Understand copyright law, fair use doctrine, and licensing models
Can explain Creative Commons licenses, open access, and fair dealing
Can consult on specific fair use scenarios

Accessibility and Universal Design:

Knowledge of digital accessibility and inclusive educational materials
Understanding of how OER can serve diverse learners

Digital Infrastructure:

Experience with course management systems, institutional repositories, and publishing platforms
Understanding of metadata, discoverability, and digital preservation

Scholarly Communication:

Understand open access, scholarly publishing models, and author rights
Can advise on licensing and publication of open materials

The Code of Best Practices: Endorsed by Librarians

When the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources was published in 2021, it received explicit endorsement from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). This endorsement was not coincidental—the Code was explicitly designed with librarians in mind.

Code Design for Librarians

Explicit Audience:
The Code explicitly states: “This Code is a tool for educators, librarians, and authors to evaluate common professional scenarios in which fair use can enable them to incorporate inserts, including those protected by copyright, to create OER”.

Librarian-Complementary Code:
A separate Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries addresses scenarios specific to library operations. This library-specific Code identifies “eight recurrent situations for librarians” where fair use applies:

Acquiring copyrighted materials for institutional repositories
Creating databases to facilitate non-consumptive research uses
Collecting material posted on web and making available
Maintaining integrity of works in institutional repositories
Archiving websites for future scholars
Creating electronic course reserves
Supporting special collections access
Enabling accessibility through fair use

Why Endorsement Matters:
“Fair use is a critical component of ensuring high-quality OER are created and used on campuses and in education nationwide. To help OER creators… [the] Code is a tool for educators, librarians, and authors to evaluate common professional scenarios in which fair use can enable them to incorporate inserts”.

Librarian Support Services for OER

Academic libraries now provide comprehensive services to support OER creation, adoption, and integration. The Code of Best Practices serves as the framework for many of these services:

OER Librarian Positions

Universities increasingly employ dedicated OER Librarians with explicit responsibility for fair use, copyright, and OER support.

Typical OER Librarian Responsibilities:

Develop Vision and Strategy: Identify strategies for reducing course material costs and supporting OER adoption
Provide Direct User Support: Support faculty in discovery, adoption, adaptation, creation, and publishing of OER; train on OER and course affordability
Design OER Initiatives: Develop and pilot initiatives incentivizing OER use; track and assess impact
Advance Author Support: Working with authors on “copyright, open licensing, and fair use” guidance
Coordinate Institutional Resources: Coordinate with collections, course reserves, and other departments to evaluate library support for affordable course materials

Knowledge Requirements:

Knowledge of open access, open licensing, copyright, and fair use
Experience with OER creation and adaptation
Experience conducting user research
Understanding of accessibility practices
Ability to develop training materials and workshops
Experience leading collaborative projects

OER Consultation Process

Librarians provide structured consultations supporting faculty OER development:

Four-Step Consultation Process:

Initial Assessment: Understand faculty’s pedagogical goals and course content needs
Resource Discovery and Evaluation: Locate open-licensed materials, evaluate fit for learning objectives
Integration Support: Help integrate materials into course structure
Documentation and Troubleshooting: Document decisions, address ongoing questions

Role of Subject Librarians:
Subject liaison librarians serve as “go-betweens,” understanding both institutional capabilities and discipline-specific pedagogical needs. They facilitate consultations, locate resources, and provide ongoing support.

Fair Use and Copyright Consultation

Beyond general OER support, librarians provide specific fair use consultations:

When Faculty Consult on Fair Use:

Determining whether specific use falls under fair use
Identifying which fair use principle applies to their scenario
Strengthening fair use position through documentation
Deciding when to license instead of relying on fair use
Finding open alternatives to copyrighted content

Documentation Support:
Librarians help faculty document fair use reasoning using the Code framework, creating institutional records of fair use determinations. This documentation demonstrates good faith and institutional backing.

Example Consultation:
A professor wants to place an entire copyrighted textbook chapter in her course management system. Librarian consultation might:

Explain four-factor fair use analysis
Reference relevant Code principles
Discuss whether use is transformative or merely reproductive
Explain access restrictions (password-protected LMS) strengthen fair use
Suggest excerpting key sections instead of entire chapter
Recommend linking to chapter if available through library subscription
Document consultation and recommendation

Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) Programs: Code in Action

One of the most visible applications of librarian-led OER programs is Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) initiatives. The Code of Best Practices directly supports ZTC work:

What ZTC Means

Core Principle:
“Zero Textbook Cost” means students can complete a course without purchasing or paying for textbooks. All required course materials are provided free.

Materials May Include:

Open Educational Resources (ideally CC-BY licensed)
Library-licensed electronic resources
Public domain materials
Materials made available through fair use in password-protected LMS
Links to publicly available web materials

Impact:
“66.6% of surveyed students did not purchase required textbook because of cost, which these students felt resulted in them earning a poor grade (37.6%) or earning a failing grade (19.8%)”. ZTC initiatives eliminate this cost barrier.

Librarian Role in ZTC Programs

City Tech Example:

City Tech implemented semester-long OER Fellowship programs supported by librarians:

Faculty Participation:

Multiple seminars over semester
Training on OER, copyright, Creative Commons licensing, accessibility, open pedagogy
One-on-one and small group consultations
End-of-semester course website on institutional platform
Access to librarian support throughout process

Library Support:

Copyright and fair use training integrated throughout
Consultation on fair use scenarios specific to faculty’s course
Support for integrating both open-licensed and fair-use materials
Technical support for course website creation
Follow-up support for future semesters

Outcomes:

Faculty complete course transformation to ZTC format
ZTC courses reduce student costs from hundreds to zero dollars
Replicable model spreads to other courses and institutions
Librarians positioned as OER leaders

Broader Zero Textbook Cost Framework

Some institutions offer ZTC Degrees where students can complete entire degree programs without textbook costs:

Library’s Role:

Identify portfolio of materials (OER + licensed + fair use) supporting degree
Integrate diverse resource types into coherent curriculum
Support coordination across multiple courses
Ensure fair use materials appropriately documented in password-protected LMS
Maintain ZTC designation in institutional scheduling systems

Importance of Tracking:
“After Timetable published and viewable to students, ZTC attribute should not be removed. Students may make decisions about enrollment based on ZTC attribute, and it is unfair to these students if attribute removed after they have already enrolled”.

Librarian Training and Professional Development

Recognizing that “librarians come to OER practice with different levels of exposure and knowledge”, forward-thinking institutions invest in librarian professional development on OER and fair use:

Internal Librarian Training

City Tech Model:

In Fall 2020, City Tech offered paid training on OER exclusively for librarians—not faculty, but librarians themselves.

Program Design:

Two weeks of structured learning
Readings on OER, copyright, licensing, open pedagogy, accessibility
Asynchronous discussions with peer librarians
Assignments applying concepts to librarians’ own work
~10 hours total work per librarian
Pre- and post-training assessments

Topics Covered:

Basics of OER
Copyright and Creative Commons licensing
Fair use principles
Open pedagogy concepts
Accessibility and universal design
Discipline-specific OER resource discovery
Creating usable, accessible OER

Goals:
“Integrate philosophy of open education and open educational resources into librarians’ everyday work.” Rather than training faculty in isolation, the goal was spreading OER knowledge through librarians’ existing relationships with departments and faculty.

Professional Development Models

Literature identifies multiple effective training approaches:

One-Off Approaches:

Lunchtime talks on OER or copyright
Single webinars on fair use basics
Ad-hoc workshops when interest arises

Sustained Engagement Models:

Multi-part workshop series over semester
Peer learning and community of practice approaches
Dartmouth Biomedical Libraries example: “moved away from one-off approach into more sustained engagement throughout the library”
Inclusive of both librarians and staff, “encouraged social learning as a group”

Paid Training Programs:

Institutional recognition of professional development value
Release time or compensation for participation
More rigorous curriculum design
Higher completion and engagement rates

Copyright Education Using the Code

Librarians serve as primary copyright educators for faculty, using the Code as a teaching tool:

Teaching Fair Use Principles

Framework Approach:
Rather than viewing fair use as abstract doctrine, librarians explain the Code’s Four Principles in context of faculty’s specific discipline and course:

Principle A: Criticism and Commentary: When analyzing copyrighted works as objects of study
Principle B: Illustration: When using materials to exemplify concepts
Principle C: Learning Resources: When using authentic materials for skill-building
Principle D: Repurposing: When adapting existing educational materials

Discipline-Specific Teaching:

Art history faculty: How to use copyrighted artworks and photographs for teaching (Principles A, B)
Literature faculty: How to incorporate copyrighted poems and excerpts (Principles A, C)
Media literacy faculty: How to use clips from commercial media (Principle B, A)
History faculty: How to incorporate archival photographs and documents (Principles B, C)

Scenario-Based Learning:
Rather than abstract four-factor analysis, librarians present specific scenarios matching faculty’s work, explain which Code principle applies, and walk through fair use reasoning.

Reducing Copyright Anxiety

A critical barrier to OER adoption is “copyright anxiety”—educators avoiding fair use even when clearly applicable, often due to stigma or misunderstanding.

How Code Addresses This:
“Simply by articulating their consensus on this subject, [educators] have already lowered the risk associated with these activities”. The Code signals: “Your professional community has determined this is fair use; you’re not alone in making this determination”.

Librarian Communication:

“Fair use is not something to fear; it’s a right educators possess”
“Professional communities have determined when fair use applies”
“Relying on fair use is not in tension with open education goals; it’s aligned with them”
“We will back reasonable fair use determinations made in good faith”

Fair Use Week and Advocacy

Librarians participate in Fair Use Week (typically during February), using Code to promote fair use understanding:

Resources Librarians Share:

Code of Best Practices documents
Infographics on fair use
Case studies and scenarios
Expert videos on fair use principles
Fair use evaluation tools

Messaging:
“Librarians work with students and faculty to better understand copyright exemptions like the fair use doctrine that enable their research, teaching, and learning”.

Relationship with General Counsel and Institutional Policy

Critical Success Factor: Librarian OER programs require coordination with institutional legal offices:

Building Legal Support

Proactive Communication:
“Establish a relationship with your Office of General Counsel, making this entity aware of the nature of OER programs”.

Why Important:

General counsel needs to understand fair use is legitimate, used responsibly
Institutional backing for fair use determinations is essential
Legal office input helps develop policies protecting institution
Transparent communication prevents unexpected legal challenges

Institutional Policy Development

What Libraries Develop:

Clear institutional OER policies supporting fair use
Guidelines for fair use incorporation in OER
Documentation procedures for fair use analyses
Support statements for educators making fair use determinations
Copyright training requirements for OER participants

Policy Content:

Definition of OER and institutional commitment
Fair use principle adapted from Code
Documentation standards and templates
Attribution requirements
Accessibility standards
Process for handling copyright disputes

Infrastructure and Systems Support

Beyond consultation and training, librarians manage infrastructure enabling OER creation and use:

OER Discovery and Management Systems

Metadata and Cataloging:

Add metadata to OER materials
Load OER into discovery systems and institutional repositories
Enable filtering/searching for OER specifically
Create pathways for students to identify ZTC courses

Example: Institutional scheduling systems now include ZTC designation as searchable filter, helping students “automatically populate to show only ZTC classes”.

Course Management Systems and eReserves

Infrastructure Support:

Configure course management systems for password protection
Create eReserve systems for fair use materials
Ensure access limitations and time-outs after course ends
Maintain link systems for accessing licensed and open materials

Why Important: Password-protected, access-limited systems strengthen fair use arguments by limiting distribution.

Publishing and Repository Platforms

Infrastructure:

Institutional repositories for OER hosting
Publishing platforms for openly licensed materials
Version control and adaptation tracking
Metadata and discoverability support

Librarian Role:

Manage platforms and ensure sustainability
Provide technical support for faculty publishing OER
Ensure materials meet accessibility standards
Support preservation and long-term access

Specialized Librarian Roles

OER Librarians

Dedicated librarian positions focused specifically on OER work:

Develop institutional OER vision and strategy
Manage OER programs and initiatives
Provide consultation and support to faculty
Coordinate with other library departments
Seek external funding to support OER work
Represent institution in OER networks and professional organizations

Copyright and Scholarly Communication Librarians

Specialized librarians with deeper copyright expertise:

Provide advanced copyright consultation
Advise OER authors on licensing and fair use
Train other librarians on copyright issues
Represent institution on copyright matters
Participate in professional copyright organizations

Growth Area: “Even with noticeable growth in number of scholarly communications positions within ARL community past decade, such positions are still less than 2% of professional workforce within ARL”. This represents significant growth opportunity.

Subject Liaison Librarians

Discipline-specific librarians supporting OER work in their subject areas:

Understand discipline-specific pedagogical needs
Support OER discovery, adaptation, creation in their discipline
Serve as go-between in consultation process
Build relationships with faculty across department
Advocate for OER and fair use understanding in their discipline

Signaling Fair Use for Downstream Users

A critical feature the Code emphasizes, and librarians implement, is transparent signaling of fair use:

Why Transparency Matters

OER Community Value:
“OER community is characterized by its commitment to assuring that adoption and adaptation of OER should be as straightforward and transparent as possible”.

Enabling Future Adaptation:
“Clear acknowledgement when inserts included in reliance on fair use is ‘best practice'” because it “enables subsequent adopters and adapters in similar pedagogical settings to understand and extend the original authors’ fair use choices”.

Librarian Implementation

Signaling Approaches:

Indirect Acknowledgement: Front-matter notice stating “Unless otherwise indicated, third-party texts, images, and other materials quoted in these materials are included on the basis of fair use as described in the Code of Best Practices for Fair Use in Open Education”
Direct Acknowledgement: Individual labels on fair use inserts (e.g., “[F] This photograph, included on basis of fair use, illustrates…”)
Hybrid Approach: General notice + specific labels for items where downstream users particularly benefit from understanding fair use rationale

Librarian Role: Training faculty on appropriate signaling approach, creating institutional templates, and ensuring documentation.

Building Sustainable OER Programs

Funding Models

Institutional Investment:

Dedicated budget for OER programs
Staff positions (OER librarians, copyright specialists)
Grant funding specifically supporting librarian participation
State-level funding initiatives (e.g., New York State funding for CUNY OER programs)

Sustainability Challenge:
Institutions face uncertain funding environments. Yet even with funding challenges, libraries demonstrate commitment to OER programs as core institutional work.

Professional Community and Networking

Organizations:

Association of Research Libraries (ARL)
ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries)
LIBER Educational Resources Working Group (European focus)
Regional and local library networks

Future Directions:
LIBER is planning 2025-2026 focus on “measuring impact of Open Educational Resources” and “assessing how AI developments influence OER”.

Impact and Outcomes

Institutional Culture Change

Librarian OER programs measurably change institutional culture:

Outcomes Tracking:

Faculty aware of copyright implications of remixing/reusing OER
Library recognized as campus advocate and leader in OER
Students perceive course material costs as reasonable
Faculty create course reading lists including OER
Faculty collaborate with librarians on OER projects
Faculty create, reuse, remix OER actively
Faculty-created OER adopted at other institutions

Cost Savings for Students

Student Impact:
“66.6% of surveyed students did not purchase required textbook because of cost” leading to poor or failing grades. ZTC initiatives eliminate this barrier.

Scholarly Communication Advancement

OER work positions libraries in broader scholarly communication transformation:

Advances open access and open scholarship
Challenges commercial publishing monopolies
Enables educator/researcher autonomy
Promotes global knowledge sharing

International Dimension: Canadian Fair Dealing Code

The Code model extends beyond U.S. fair use. Canadian librarians and educators adapted the Code to Canadian fair dealing framework:

Canadian Code:
“Code of Best Practices in Fair Dealing for Open Educational Resources” explores legal and practical application in Canada.

Development:
Developed by Canadian Association of Research Libraries working group with legal review and community feedback.

Benefit:
“Adoption of the Code by educational institutions and the OER and copyright communities will benefit students and educators in Canada by not only ensuring educational resources are high quality and accessible but by educating them on Canadian copyright and fortifying the balance of user and creator rights”.

Conclusion: Librarians as OER Infrastructure

Librarians have positioned themselves as essential infrastructure for the open educational resources movement. The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Open Educational Resources provides the intellectual and practical framework enabling librarians to:

Educate faculty on when and how to incorporate copyrighted materials appropriately
Support OER creation through consultation and infrastructure
Establish institutional policies aligned with professional best practices
Reduce copyright anxiety by demonstrating professional consensus
Enable cost reduction through Zero Textbook Cost programs
Advance scholarly communication toward open, sustainable models

Rather than viewing fair use as something to avoid, librarians recognize it as a legitimate tool enabling pedagogically superior OER while simultaneously investing in openly licensed materials. Through training, consultation, infrastructure support, and institutional leadership, librarians use the Code to create sustainable OER ecosystems that benefit students, faculty, and institutions.

The Code explicitly recognized librarians as intended audience and partners in OER development. Librarian adoption of the Code demonstrates that communities using codes of best practices reduce legal risk while achieving their educational missions more effectively. For librarians leading OER initiatives, the Code provides professional consensus grounding fair use determinations, institutional policy development, and faculty education—making librarians’ central role in OER sustainability both legally defensible and pedagogically powerful.