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Online Library Resources

Online resources offered through Davis Library for remote and distance learners at the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College.

Information Literacy

Information literacy is being able to identify your information need.  It is knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use, and communicate it in an ethical and legal way.

The skills and competencies that are needed to be information literate require an understanding of:

  • The information need
  • How to find information
  • How to evaluate information
  • How to find and use the information as appropriate
  • The ethics and responsibility of use
  • How to communicate or share your findings

 

Critical Thinking & Information Literacy

Critical Thinking in terms of Information Literacy involves

  • Realizing the task
  • Exploring, formulating, questioning, and making connections
  • Searching and finding
  • Collecting and organizing
  • Analyzing, evaluating, interpreting
  • Applying understanding
  • Communicating
  • Reflecting

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Fair Use

Fair Use: Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act allows for some provisions of using a reproduction of someone else's copyright-protected work if it is used for one of the following purposes: criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. However, fair use does not automatically qualify every educational use of a copyrighted work. A fair use evaluation is needed for each use or re-use of a work. The evaluation as to whether the reproduction is fair use must be made based upon four factors:
 

  • The purpose and character of use (commercial vs. nonprofit educational use)
  • The nature of the copyright-protected work
  • The amount and substantiality of the portion used
  • The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyright-protected work.


The legal defense for using the fair use provision would be in front of a federal court.

When providing copyrighted works under the provisions of fair use, notify users that the works may be subject to copyright protection.