PDFs from websites require copyright consideration. The best practice is to provide a link to the webpage where the document is available from - do not link directly to the PDF as this may bypass important terms of use and other important website functions. If using the Reading List app then follow instructions on How to add readings from the internet - Cite It.
If you have problems locating a suitable link for a website document, then contact the Library Teaching Support team.
To use a PDF from a website use one of the three options below.
Note: If the PDF is from a Library subscribed resource use one of the Tools for linking to Library subscribed resources.
This is the best practice option.
Create a Reading List item for the document, providing a link to the webpage where the document is available. Add instructions as a Public Note for your students on where on the webpage to find the document if it is not obvious. Do not link directly to the PDF online.
PDFs of Creative Commons licensed material may be added to your Reading Lists, along with the CC licence.
If you do not have an online location for the PDF, you can upload it to your Reading List using the 'Create' function.
Send it through to the Library to be assessed for copyright compliance.
For copyright compliance, PDFs must not be uploaded to Canvas modules.
Also, do not link directly to the PDF as this may bypass important terms of use and other important website functions.
You can link to the landing page where the PDF is located by inserting a hyperlink to the webpage location in your Canvas page.
Go to the Canvas Page where you want to put the link.
If you have problems locating a suitable link for a PDF then contact the Library Teaching Support team.
If you want to refer your students to a hard copy book in the Library, then use Reading Lists, or follow the instructions for adding a LibrarySearch link to your Canvas course.
RMIT University is bound by an educational licence with the copyright agency that sets out how RMIT staff can use chapters or scanned pages from published works for learning and teaching purposes. The licence requires that items be placed into eReserve.
Note:
If using the Reading list app in Canvas then follow the instructions to request digitisation. Ensure all citation information is provided and tag with 'digitise'.
If not using the Reading List app then the e-Reserve team will source and scan documents, such as chapters from books, journal articles, and artistic works, and add them to the e-Reserve collection. Find out more information about the eReserve service and how to make your requests.
This Library guide by RMIT University Library is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 licence, except where otherwise noted. All reasonable efforts have been made to clearly label material where the copyright is owned by a third party and ensure that the copyright owner has consented to this material being presented in this library guide. The RMIT University logo is ‘all rights reserved’.