Statement on Electronic Resources Use

Licensed electronic resources are provided for academic research to authorized users who are affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University and/or on the campus network. The use of electronic resources is governed by copyright law and by the terms of license agreements between Carnegie Mellon University and individual vendors/publishers.

Please be aware that terms and conditions are established by individual publishers. See publishers’ websites for specific use/download limitations, or contact us with questions at eresources@cmu.libanswers.com.

 

Permitted Uses/Actions

  • Searching, viewing, and browsing tables of contents, full-text of articles, bibliographic information and data
  • Downloading, saving and printing limited data or articles for personal academic use only
  • Please note that downloading large amounts of content at the same time may be considered excessive use and trigger an IP block that prevents access to subscription materials. See publishers’ websites for use/download limitations, or contact us with questions at eresources@cmu.libanswers.com
  • Text and data mining where applicable. Select vendors/publishers permit text and data mining, where others may consider this a violation. Please visit the Text & Data Mining research guide or contact us with questions at eresources@cmu.libanswers.com

 

Prohibited Uses/Actions

  • Any commercial use
  • Redistributing copyrighted content to the open web
  • Systematic or excessive downloads. Downloading large amounts of content at the same time may be considered excessive use and trigger an IP block that prevents access to subscription materials. See the publisher’s website for use/download limitations, or contact us with questions at eresources@cmu.libanswers.com
  • Downloading entire collections of data or entire issues of a journal or conference is a violation of copyright law
  • Using programs, scripts, commands, spiders, robots to access and/or download content
  • Sharing your Andrew ID or other login information with others

 

Enforcement

  • Unauthorized use/actions may violate the Carnegie Mellon University Computing Policy and can result in individuals losing access to online services and/or to the Carnegie Mellon University network
  • Library resource vendors/publishers have measures in place to detect unusual activity that violates license agreements and could result in IP address blocks, which often blocks access for other campus users
  • Violation of policy can result in disciplinary action. Continued or repeated misuse of an online service can result in the loss of access for the entire campus community

 

Using Generative AI with Library eResources

Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, and others) may be useful for brainstorming, summarization, and research support; however, users should exercise caution when using AI tools with licensed library resources.

Please note:

  • Many library electronic resources are governed by license agreements that may restrict uploading articles, ebooks, PDFs, datasets, or other content into third-party AI platforms.
  • Do not upload sensitive, confidential, unpublished, or copyrighted materials into public AI tools unless you have permission to do so.
  • AI-generated content may be inaccurate, incomplete, or biased. Always verify information using authoritative sources.
  • Users are responsible for complying with university policies, copyright law, database license agreements, and publisher terms of use.
  • Citation or disclosure of AI use may be required by instructors, publishers, or funding agencies.

If you are unsure or have any questions, please contact the appropriate librarian.

 

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