Statement of Service and Legal Requirements for Students

The multi-award-winning Open University Library underpins the University mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. Our vision is to connect the whole OU Community with world class information, technology and award-winning expertise to facilitate knowledge creation.  

You can expect us to: 

• Provide you with access to carefully selected, trusted library content (for example, academic journals, ebooks, images, and newspapers). 

• Support your skills development to enable you to be effective online. This includes being able to find, evaluate, manage, and communicate information, and to create and share digital content.  

• Provide help and support via the Library website. We are available to answer your questions 24/7 via our specialist Library helpdesk team, although complex enquiries may take longer to answer in full.  

• Respond positively to different needs, ensuring equality of access where reasonably practical to all our services for all our students.  

• Develop and improve services based on your needs and your feedback. 

How you can help us deliver our services to you: 

• Notify us as soon as possible if you have any concerns about, or dissatisfaction with the services we provide you, and let us know your views so that we can continue to deliver the services you need.

• Keep up-to-date with new developments in the services and resources we provide, by following Library News and our Facebook and Twitter accounts.  

• Due to Copyright Law and publisher’s licensing terms, you have a legal requirement to read and abide by copyright and licensing regulations. Please read your legal requirements below.  

Your legal requirements: 

I [the student] confirm that whenever I use any “Products” made available to me by The Open University, I accept and will follow the conditions set out below. I understand that “Products” means on-line resources and/or software. 

1. I will immediately adhere to any rules which are brought to my attention concerning the use of the Products whether at the time I access the Products or thereafter. I understand that these rules may be imposed by The Open University, the owner or licensor of the Products, or by some other party who provides services relating to the use of the Products. 

2. I will only use the Products in connection with the role as an Open University student. 

3. I will not use the Products for any private or commercial purpose including any direct or indirect monetary reward, profit, fee, or income generation; nor will I sell, resell, loan, transfer, lease, rent or hire the Products. 

4. I understand that I may incorporate extracts from the Products in my own work or articles so long as: 

• My work or article relates to non-commercial research, private study, criticism or review and 

• I do not extract a greater proportion of the Product that is strictly necessary for the purpose of my academic study or research, and that the extract(s) will not be “substantial”. Under copyright legislation “substantial” means considering both quantity or quality and 

• Unless impossible, I include a sufficient acknowledgement of the source of each extract. 

• If I have any questions or am in any doubt about my right to use any part of the Products that I may extract and reproduce, I will contact Library Enquiries or The Content and Licensing Team before I go ahead. 

5. I will not attempt to by-pass any security measures or digital rights management (DRM) measures put in place by any party concerning access to or use of the Products or the systems that support such access and use. I will abide by the Open University Student Computing Policy, keep passwords and any other log-on or account details safe and not disclose them to any other person or party. 

6. Where I am permitted to download any Products I will ensure that no other person or party uses my copies or downloads and that no other person or party makes any further copies themselves. I understand that the terms and conditions contained in this document apply to all copies and downloads I make of the Products. 

7. I will not remove any ownership, copyright or similar notices or DRM from any Product nor from any copies or downloads that I am entitled to make. 

8. I will not attempt to alter any Products for example by disassembling or decompiling software code or otherwise, nor will I attempt to replicate or re-create any Products for example by reverse engineering.