Using Library Resources with AI Tools

Whether you’re a student writing a paper or a researcher working with complex datasets, chances are you’ll be using resources accessed through your university library. You may also choose to use AI tools to support your studying, coursework, or research.   

If so, it’s important to understand the ways in which the library resources you use may be subject to restrictions when used with AI tools. 

The library provides access to thousands of licensed electronic resources including journals, e-books, databases, and streaming media, to support your learning and research needs. But have you ever stopped to think: In what ways am I allowed to use this content? 

Let's say you're writing a paper and decide to paste a section of a journal article into ChatGPT or Copilot to summarize or analyze it. That step, moving library content into an AI tool, is where important rules may apply. 

When the library gets access to resources, it signs a licensing agreement with publishers, which determines how students, faculty, and researchers can use the materials.

And importantly - Many licenses include restrictions on:

• uploading content into AI tools
• text and data mining
• redistributing or sharing content
• or reusing and modifying content

When you upload content into an AI tool, that content may be processed on external servers. Depending on the tool, it may also be stored or reused. From a license perspective, these uses may be considered redistribution or unauthorized data extraction, which can be a violation of licensing terms.  

Using content in ways the license does not allow - even unintentionally - can lead to:

• Issues with research ethics and academic integrity
• Loss of access to resources
• Legal repercussions
• Inability to publish or reproduce findings
• Or financial penalties for the University as a whole

So how do you check? Information about how you can use specific library resources is often available in Omni, the library's online catalogue. Some resources even include specific notes about AI usage directly in their license details.

For example, in Omni, you may see license information that indicates whether AI use is allowed, restricted, or prohibited.  You can find this information by:

1. Searching in Omni for the specific content you need to use.
2. When the search results are displayed, click the relevant title.
3. Scroll down to 'View Online'.  For the sources listed under Full Text Availability, click on the ‘Show License' link if one is displayed, to view the kinds of uses allowed for that resource.  Some, but not all resources will include information about use with AI tools.

If license information about use with AI tools is not displayed, or is unclear, contact the library.

We can assist you by:

• helping to interpret the license information displayed in Omni
• clarifying AI-related permissions
• and guiding you to appropriate resources, including openly licensed resources, such as those with Creative Commons licenses, that are designed to be reused, shared, and sometimes remixed.

To learn more about finding openly licensed content, check out our video on Creative Commons licenses, linked in this video's YouTube description.

In some cases, even if a license restricts AI use, you may still be able to request permission to use it directly from the content owner. Sometimes, you may need to contact them anyway - to access full datasets or specific file formats.

Contact the library if you need help contacting publishers or other content owners.

To learn more, you may want to explore these resources:

• Acceptable Use of Online Resources
• Copyright and Generative AI
• Copyright FAQ
• License Usage Information

Working with AI tools doesn't replace your research responsibilities - it changes them.

So, before you upload licensed content into an AI tool, or use AI tools to extract or analyze it, take a moment to check the license terms and understand what they allow.

Need more help? Email us, use the Chat feature on the library’s website, or drop by the Ask Us desk!