Ford Library at The Fuqua School of Business

Database Terms of Use

  1. Definitions: "Web databases" are web-accessed information resources delivered to the Fuqua Community and/or Duke University by The Ford Library. "Electronic Resources" include information resources accessed via CD-ROM or locally installed client-server software delivered to the Fuqua Community and/or Duke University by The Ford Library. Both are hereafter referred to as "Ford Library Databases" or "database resources".
  2. Authorized Users: All students, faculty, and staff of Duke University and its professional schools (Fuqua, Law, Medicine, & Divinity) programs, and academic non-profit ventures are licensed as authorized users of the vast majority of Ford Library's database resources. However, certain database products may be licensed for use only by students, faculty, and staff of the Fuqua School of Business due to pricing or vendor restrictions. Some database resources are also available for personal, and strictly non-commercial use in the Library by patrons unaffiliated with Duke University.
  3. Appropriate Use: Access granted to Ford Library Databases via IP address authentication, or usernames and passwords, as well as text and numeric data printed or downloaded from these databases, is to be used solely for the purpose of nonprofit, academic research in support of classroom assignments, projects, examinations, scholarly publication, or personal professional development while enrolled or employed at the Fuqua School of Business, or Duke University.
  4. Inappropriate Use: Your access to, and data from, Ford Library databases may not be used to support the work (for profit or non-profit) of any company or organization at any time, including during an internship while you are enrolled at Fuqua or Duke. Inappropriate, or commercial use of database resources is a breach of a binding legal contract and may result in both: a) loss of access to those resources for all Duke and Fuqua users, and b) legal action being taken by the vendor against the breaching user and/or Duke University.
  5. Licensed Access: Access granted to Ford Library Databases via IP address authentication, or usernames and passwords is limited to a student's term of enrollment in a Fuqua MBA or Duke program, and/or a faculty or staff member's term of employment at Fuqua or Duke. Some databases are only licensed for access by students, faculty or staff of the Fuqua School of Business; or may have shorter periods of account access for non-Fuqua students.
  6. Sharing Access: Usernames and passwords, and any other means of granting access to Ford Library Databases are intended solely for use by individual, currently enrolled, MBA program participants, Fuqua faculty and staff members, or members of the Duke Community and may not be distributed or made available to third parties. Usernames and passwords issued as a means of access to a Library database may not be shared.
  7. Sharing Content: Text and numeric data printed or downloaded from Ford Library Databases may not be shared with, sold, or redistributed to third parties not directly affiliated with Duke University. Appropriately cited insubstantial amounts of text and numeric data may be included in scholarly publications.
  8. Text / Data Mining: Unless otherwise indicated in Ford Library's A-Z Database List, text and numeric data from database resources may not be extracted or downloaded in bulk using automated scripts or other external software tools not provided within the database resources themselves. If your research project or use of a database resource will involve the extraction of large amounts of text or data from a database resource, you are strongly encouraged to consult a reference librarian by email prior to beginning your project.
  9. Generative AI and Database Content: Reports, text and numeric data, and any content sourced from library databases should not be uploaded to any third party Generative AI portal or site, including but not limited to ChatGPT without the express permission of the database provider. If you wish to use database content within a Generative AI tool, please consult a reference librarian by email prior to beginning your project.
  10. Usage Audits: Use of Ford Library Databases will be periodically audited to gather statistical data, and to insure compliance with these Terms and Conditions of Use.

Version: Fall 2023