CMLE is here for you with all kinds of resources and information. Each week we will share a look at another piece of that information, to help draw some attention to resources that may help you as you serve your community.
This week we look at our Copyright resources!
Libraries and archives are often the locations in an organization where copyright laws meet the demands of your community members. We need to be ready to explain why it is not appropriate (legal) to just scan the latest expensive textbook and put it online for an entire class. We need to provide information on why we can not just photocopy articles from a popular journal every single week to distribute. We need to train our community members in using images online, in sharing information from behind paywalls, and so many more things to help them follow copyright law in their own work.
We provide a lot of information for you on our Copyright page. For some quick basics, check out our “Linking Our Libraries” podcast episode on copyright!
We have some basic information (a few links copied below), and information on each of these headings:
- Tools for Working with Copyrighted Material
- Copyright in Academic/Research Institutions
- Helping Our Patrons
- Information on creating training programs
- Copyright and 3D Printers
- Copyright in History
- Copyright in Federal Law
- Fair Use, Open Access, and Other Possible Modifications of the Law
- New Frontiers in Copyright
- A Few Library/Archive Resources
- Copyright Document Examples
Check out some of this information, and see if it can answer your questions. If you get stuck, you can always contact us at CMLE Headquarters and we can help you answer questions.
- US Copyright Office
- University of Minnesota Copyright Information and Education
- Copyright Kids (K-12)
- Creative Commons
- Duke University Center for the Study of the Public Domain (definitely check out their graphic novel!)
- Society of American Archivists Copyright Information
- SAA Orphan Works: Statement of Best Practices
- The Public Domain Enclosing the Commons of the Mind “James Boyle’s website – lots of good info here, links to the open access books he has written, and others!”
- IFLA International Copyright Information “Copyright laws are meant to balance the public interest in accessing information with the rights of authors, artists, and publishers. In some countries, copyright laws include provisions so libraries and archives can provide public access to the world’s knowledge—but in many countries, these exceptions apply only to resources that exist in traditional formats. Outdated copyright laws increasingly prevent libraries and archives from performing their most basic functions, simply because resources are now digital. In a number of countries, particularly in Africa and Latin America, there are no exceptions safeguarding the services of libraries and archives at all.”