Using Unpublished Works

Unpublished works are copyrighted. According to 17 U.S.C. Sec 301, unpublished theses, dissertations, stories, poems, images, films, sound recordings, etc., enjoy the same copyright protection as published works. Also, all users of unpublished works, even those users in educations settings, must comply with “donor agreements” which often accompany unpublished sources.

Provide the full citation—in the style that you prefer your students to use—for the work that you have selected. For example (in APA style): Applewhite, F. (2008). A death in the family: mental health impacts of Klamath River salmon decline on the local Karuk tribe. Unpublished thesis (B.A.), Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA. (To comply with the TEACH ACT, materials must be fully cited each time you assign or use them.) Add a copyright notice, Copyright © 2008 Faith Applewhite, and a disclaimer:

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the reproduction of copyrighted materials. Under certain conditions specified in the law, university libraries and archives are authorized to provide reproductions. One of these specified conditions is that the reproduction be used for academic study, scholarship, or research only. This material has been made available solely for use in this course. The material may not be distributed to any person outside this class, electronically or in paper form without specific permission from the copyright holder. If you use a reproduction for purposes in excess of fair use without permission, you may be liable for copyright infringement. Further, circumvention of technological protection measures (Section 1201) is against the law.

√ CHECK     Is the work in the public domain?

    Is there a Creative Commons or other author-specified use agreement in place?

    YOU MAY:

• Once all “donor agreements” are heeded, proceed as you would for a published work.

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Adapted with permission from Wesleyan University