[Eril-l] AI and electronic resources

[Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list]

At JMU, we recently implemented our own solution to this issue by adding notes to Springshare entries.



If you scroll through the A-Z database list<https://guides.lib.jmu.edu/az/databases>, some entries have a "permitted uses" carrot. Expanding this shows whether AI and/ or TDM are permitted for that resource. We've only added these notes to resources that have explicit permissions or restrictions in the license. We track license terms in Alma and make some of these terms public in Primo, as well.



We also have a General Terms of Use for Electronic Resources<https://www.lib.jmu.edu/policies/electronic-resources/> page, which describes appropriate use in general. We still need to add some content to this page letting users know that LibGuides now contains more detailed information.



It's not a perfect solution, but it helps make some of our explicit license terms visible to users. We do get questions from faculty about which content can be used with AI.


Sarah Pritchard (she/her)

Director of Collections

James Madison University Libraries

540-568-6582

From: Eril-l <eril-l-bounces at lists.eril-l.org> on behalf of Electronic Resources in Libraries discussion list via Eril-l <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Date: Friday, January 9, 2026 at 1:59 PM
To: eril-l at lists.eril-l.org <eril-l at lists.eril-l.org>
Subject: [Eril-l] AI and electronic resources

Dear All,
Recently our staff were discussing the legal implications of students uploading content from our electronic resources into outside AI platforms.  While this violates copyright it will likely also violate our licensing agreements with vendors.  Our staff attorney suggested adding a popup box that users would need to click to acknowledge that they will not do it somewhere on our website for liability purposes.  We use the Springshare/Libguide platform for our website and resources.  We know that we can’t put a popup or block in all the places online that students click through to get to our resources.  How are other libraries managing this issue?
Replies on or off list would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Kathleen M. Tobolewski, MLS
Metadata and E-Resource Management Librarian
Reeves Memorial Library
Seton Hill University
724-838-2438
ktobolewski at setonhill.edu<mailto:ktobolewski at setonhill.edu>



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