Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that has developed a suite of licenses that authors and other creators can apply to their works to permit sharing and distribution. Applying a Creative Commons (CC) license to your written, artistic, musical or multimedia work means that you retain ownership of copyright but you permit certain uses of your work without the user needing to contact you for permission each time. You also waive your moral rights, to the extent required for users to use your works according to the applied license. Please note that users of copyright protected works (including those under CC licenses) have certain rights in Canada’s Copyright Act; these rights will supersede the terms of a CC license where applicable.

You must be the copyright holder of the work and any other works contained within it (such as photographs, diagrams, articles, video clips, etc.), or have license or permission to include these works, in order to apply a CC license. Once you make your work available under a specific CC license, you cannot revoke or change the license associated with that specific work (though of course you may stop distributing the material).

There are six different CC licenses, each with various parameters and requirements, ranging from extremely open and permissive to slightly less so. All CC licenses will permit typical teaching uses such as displaying in the classroom, distributing to students or posting in Canvas. These licenses are described below.

  CC BY (Attribution)

The most open of Creative Commons licenses, this option permits others to copy, distribute, adapt and otherwise use your work in any way without contacting your for permission. However, they are required to credit you in any use they make of your work.

  CC BY-SA (Attribution-ShareAlike)

This license permits others to copy, distribute, adapt and otherwise use your work in any way without contacting you for permission. However, they are required to credit you in any use they make of your work, and also to license any derivative work (e.g. an adapted version) under the same license.

  CC BY-ND (Attribution-NoDerivs [No Derivatives])

This license permits others to copy and distribute your work without contacting you for permission. However, they are required to credit you on the copies they make and they are not permitted to change your work in any way.

  CC BY-NC (Attribution-NonCommercial)

This license permits others to copy, distribute, adapt and otherwise use your work without contacting you for permission. However, they are required to credit you in any use they make of your work and they are not permitted to use the work for commercial purposes. Non-commercial purposes are defined by Creative Commons as those “not primarily intended or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.”

  CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike)

This license permits others to copy, distribute, adapt and otherwise use your work without contacting you for permission. However, they must credit you in any use they make of the work; they are not permitted to use the work for commercial purposes; and they must license any derivative work (e.g. an adapted version) under the same license. Non-commercial purposes are defined by Creative Commons as those “not primarily intended or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.”

  CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs [No Derivatives])

This license permits others to copy and distribute your work without contacting you for permission. However, they must credit you on any copies they make; they are not permitted to use the work for commercial purposes; and they are not permitted to change your work in any way. Non-commercial purposes are defined by Creative Commons as those “not primarily intended or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.”

The Simon Fraser University Library has contracts with a variety of vendors and publishers that provide the campus with thousands of electronic resources (databases, e-journals, e-books, etc.) costing millions of dollars per year. 

In addition to paying for these resources, the Library negotiates license agreements that stipulate how and by whom a given resource may be used. Please note that the license terms take precedence over SFU’s Fair Dealing Guidelines and override the user rights in the Copyright Act. Only current faculty, students or staff are registered with the proxy server and thus able to access resources from off-campus (for those resources permitting off-campus access AKA remote access). In most cases, access for the general public (AKA walk-in users) is made available through computers within the Library. Learn more about who is authorized to access the Library’s electronic resources.

Here are some rules of thumb for good practices and avoiding improper use. Improper use, known as a license violation, can result in the university’s temporary, or permanent, loss of access to a resource.

Always acknowledge your source on any published or unpublished document when you use data found on electronic resources. 

How do I know what uses are permitted/prohibited for a given electronic resource?

Follow the license instructions related to some of the common uses (ex. Using electronic resources in course packs and reserves, printing and downloading, remote access, text and data mining, etc.) available in the databases list and within the Library Catalogue record of each resource by clicking on Show License.

See license details in the database record 

Step 1: Search or browse to a given database record from the databases list (example show below can be found here). Scroll down the page and click on the "show license" button.

Step 2: An extended display of license details will show indicating what uses are permitted or prohibited for this specific resource.  

See license details in the Library Catalogue records

Step 1: Search the Library Catalogue for a given resource (a database, book, book chapter, journal, article, etc.). In the "Access it" section within the record view, you could learn about the license details for this resource by clicking on the "show license" button. 
 

Step 2: An extended display of license details will show indicating what uses are permitted or prohibited for this specific resource. Scroll down for details related to TDM. 

 

Please note: If you are unsure about what those permissions/prohibitions mean for your use, check the electronic resources terms of use or contact the Electronic Resources Librarian at lib-licensing@sfu.ca.

What is microfilm?

Microfilm is a 35 mm film with microscopic photographs of pages of books, newspapers, documents, etc., to allow compact storage. A special reader which enlarges the print is necessary to read the film.

Microform is the general, catch-all term for:

• Microfilm: rolls of film 16mm or 35mm wide.
• Microfiche: 3x5 or 4x6 inch sheets of film
• Microcassette: microfilm tapes on cartridges
• Microcard: miniaturized text printed on an opaque paper card. It is also called Evans fiche.

Where can I read or view microfilm?

The Microform area of the 6th floor at SFU Burnaby's W.A.C. Bennett Library has a reader/scanner which will make digital copies of film and fiche.

SFU Vancouver's Belzberg Library has microform reader for students and staff to use with microforms requested from SFU Burnaby. To request delivery of microforms to Belzberg Library, click the "Interlibrary Loans" button next to Get It on the catalogue record for the item you seek and enter your information.

SFU Surrey's Fraser Library does not have a microform collection or microform reader/printer.

For more information, please see  Microforms Collection.

Does the Library have a microform scanner?

The Library has two digital microform scanners in the Microforms Area of the W.A.C Bennett Library, at SFU Burnaby. These machines can save images in a variety of formats including PDF, TIFF, JPG and BMP. You can save scans to a memory stick or to your SFU file space. Scanned images can also be sent to a public network printer.

Where can I make paper copies from microfiche or microfilm?

Copiers are included in most of the microfiche and microfilm readers; you use your online Papercut account that you use for photocopying and printing.

For a detailed list of SFU Library's print/copy pricing (including printing from microfilm), see  How much does it cost to print or make copies at the SFU Library?

Does the SFU Library have a microcard reader?

Yes, there is a microcard reader with print capabilities in the Microforms Area of the W.A.C Bennett Library, at SFU Burnaby. This reader is used only for opaque mircrocard formats, such as the Evans fiche. There is no charge for printing from the microcard reader.

Getting help & magnifying the print

Ask staff in Interlibrary Loans for assistance with using microforms equipment between the hours of 9-4:00 Monday-Friday.

Separate from economic rights, the creator of a copyright protected work is also entitled to moral rights, which include the right of paternity (to claim authorship, remain anonymous or adopt a pseudonym); the right of integrity (to prevent distortion, modification or mutilation of a work); and the right of association (to control activities associated with a work). 

Even if a creator has assigned his or her copyright in a work to another entity, the creator would continue to hold the moral rights to the work. Moral rights can be waived or bequeathed but cannot be assigned (transferred).

Economic rights are held by the owner of the copyright and include the right to produce, reproduce, present, communicate or publish the work, or to authorize others to do these things, depending on the type of work, and to benefit financially from the work. 

Economic rights can be licensed (temporarily) or assigned (permanently) to another entity.

Periodicals are publications issued periodically or at regular (i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) intervals. Examples of periodicals include:

• scholarly or peer-reviewed journals
• popular magazines
• trade journals
• newspapers

Most periodicals held by the Library are shelved alphabetically by title.  At the W.A.C. Bennett Library (SFU Burnaby) most periodicals are on the Sixth Floor. Current, paperbound issues are kept in the Print Journals area on the North side of the Sixth floor.

Check the catalogue to locate specific periodicals by their titles. To find articles within periodicals, see How to find journal articles.

Reference (or background) sources: What they are and when to use them

Use reference books (also called reference or background sources, or resources) to get quick specific facts or information or an overview of a subject.

Some examples of reference sources are: dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, almanacs, directories, atlases, and handbooks. These can be online or in print.

Print reference books

Print reference books are often shelved alongside other books on the same subjects in the Library stacks, or in Reference Collections near Library service desks.

Many -- but not all -- can be borrowed.

Online reference sources (background information)

For 24-hour access to reference resources on any subject and from any location, see Background reference sources.

For discipline-specific resources, search by subject via  the Library's research guides, then click on the "Background information" or "Facts and data" tab for recommendations from our subject expert librarians.

The stacks are the shelves on the fourth, fifth or sixth floors of the W.A.C. Bennett library (SFU Burnaby) used for storing books or backfiles. At Belzberg Library (SFU Vancouver), the stacks collection is on the shelves nearest the windows. At the Fraser Library (SFU Surrey) the stacks are located to the right of the entrance.