Recommended Resources
Determining copyright status
Stanford's Copyright Renewal Database — this database collects copyright renewal records for works published between 1923 and 1963. Users can browse by author, title or year of publication for a work to determine if it is still protected under copyright.
U.S. Copyright Office Records Catalog — visit the U.S. Copyright Office's own catalog to help determine the copyright status of a work and who owns the rights to a particular item.
Determining fair use
American Library Association (ALA) Fair Use Evaluator — This website, after you submit a request via webform, will assist you in evaluating individual cases to determine if fair use can be claimed. The site will also help you catalog your fair use evaluation with a time-stamped PDF document, which could prove useful if a copyright holder challenges your fair use claim.
Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia — The Conference on Fair Use (CONFU)
Government resources
U.S. Copyright Office Homepage
Copyright Basics — a guide created by the U.S. Copyright Office used to communicate the basics of copyright law.
Copyright Act of 1976 — the text of the current copyright law, established by Congress in 1976.
Other colleges and universities
Cornell University's Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States — a comprehensive chart that helps determine if a work is in the public domain.