Perusall can be used to share open access resources, including public domain materials, open access versions of journals or books, or open educational resources. Instructors can also share personally created instructional materials such as syllabi, assignments, notes, etc. on Perusall.
Materials that are under copyright and/or licensed have restrictions preventing them from being used on third-party platforms. Due to publishers’ licenses and contracts, the following types of materials cannot be used on Perusall:
- e-books from the library collection
- Scanned materials from interlibrary loan
- Entire journal articles
- Lengthy portions of in-copyright works
- Reference materials
- Textbooks or e-textbooks that are not licensed directly through Perusall
More information on the appropriate use of library-licensed materials can be found at Conditions of Use and Licensing Restrictions for Electronic Resources and at the UCI Libraries’ guide on Copyright and Fair Use.
FAQ
Q: The library has an e-book that I want to assign to my students through Perusall. But I can only download a few pages. How do I download more pages?
A: Library licenses for e-books do not permit instructors to upload content to third-party platforms such as Perusall. Unfortunately, e-books from the library collection are largely incompatible with Perusall. However, if you want to assign an e-book from the library collection to students, you can provide students with a permanent link to the book from our catalog. It is helpful to also contact your Subject Librarian to discuss our e-book license, as some books may only allow for one user at a time.
Q: I want to assign sections of a textbook but I don’t want students to have to purchase the textbook. How can I get the needed sections on Perusall? Can the library buy the textbook?
A: Perusall has relationships with some textbook publishers that enable students and instructors to purchase copies of the textbook that are compatible with Perusall. However, textbooks purchased outside of Perusall’s existing ecosystem are not compatible with the platform. Libraries are not able to purchase e-textbooks for Perusall.
Q: If I’m using Perusall to teach, wouldn’t my use of copyrighted materials fall under fair use?
A: The University of California provides general guidelines related to copyright and fair use, including guidance specifically for online instruction. However, UCI Libraries may have additional licensing agreements with publishers, platforms, and other vendors, and uploading our licensed content to another platform such as Perusall would be a violation of our agreements.