What are the terms imposed when someone subscribes to an academic database? [closed]

Question

When an institution subscribes to an academic database, what are the specific terms of the agreement about what they can and cannot do with it? For example, what if they allowed anyone to use the database in the library but without a login? Or what if they provided remote access, even to community members who joined a university library rather than being at the university? Or in the extreme case, what if they made it available online without a login? I assume that’s not allowed, but what document states exactly what stuff like that is and is not allowed? Are these terms implicit as a term of purchase or does the library sign a contract?

Answer 1

The institution would typically agree to a license with the provider/publisher. The license will include terms and conditions that set some usage restrictions, disclaimers and more. (Compare with the situation when you as a consumer sign up for a service like Netflix.) There is of course no general answer as to what those restrictions are, and the extent to which they are customized or negotiated, but sometimes journals/publishers provide public-facing information portals for librarians. (Often links to information for librarians are somewhat hidden out of sight, for example towards the bottom of the journal's/publisher's website.) For example, APS's Librarian Portal is here, and they provide a link to their standard Institutional Single Site License, which spells out restrictions on authorized users etc.

Below are some excerpts from this license that would seem to rule out a library providing access to the licensed material without any login, and would allow the publisher to cease providing access should the library proceed anyway.

2. Authorized User. An Authorized User is any individual who is an employee, faculty, staff, or student officially affiliated with the Licensee and persons with legal access to the Licensee's collections and facilities on-site. Authorized Users may be persons remote from the Licensee’s physical location whose access is administered from the Licensee’s Authorized Site. This License extends only to the Licensee and such Authorized Users and may not be transferred or extended.

5. Permitted Use. A. The Authorized Users are permitted online access to the subscribed Licensed Materials and may download, save, or print text, search results, or other information from the subscribed Licensed Materials solely for their private use or research and may only use this online access in a way that conforms with all applicable laws and regulations.

6. Prohibitions on Certain Use.

A. The Licensee shall not knowingly permit anyone other than Authorized Users to use the Licensed Materials.

D. In the event that abusive usage of the online access threatens the integrity and effectiveness of the Publisher’s online distribution system, the Publisher has the right to discontinue access immediately and will inform the subscriber of the abuse within one business day. Online access will be restored as soon as practical after the abuse is corrected.

8. Licensee Warrants.

A. The Licensee shall:

ii. use reasonable efforts to monitor compliance and immediately upon becoming aware of any unauthorized use or other breach, inform the Publisher and take all reasonable and appropriate steps, both to ensure that such activity ceases and to prevent any recurrence.