Perusall can be used to share open access (OA) resources, including public domain materials, OA 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:
- Ebooks from the library collection
- Scanned materials from interlibrary loan
- Entire journal articles
- Lengthy portions of in-copyright works
- Reference materials
- Textbooks or etextbooks 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 UC Irvine Libraries’ guide on Copyright and Fair Use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question (Q): The library has an ebook that I want to assign to my students through Perusall, but I can only download a few pages. How do I download more pages?
Answer (A): Library licenses for ebooks do not permit instructors to upload content to third-party platforms such as Perusall. Unfortunately, ebooks from the library collection are largely incompatible with Perusall. However, if you want to assign an ebook 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 ebook license because 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 ecosystem are not compatible with the platform. The Libraries are not able to purchase etextbooks 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, UC Irvine Libraries may have additional licensing agreements with publishers, platforms, and other vendors. Uploading our licensed content to another platform such as Perusall would be a violation of our agreements.