Category Archives: Special

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Special

Copyright as a Comic

duke-university-copyright-graphic-novel

We all know copyright laws are important. Definitely.

And we want to obey them, and to help our colleagues and patrons to do so as well. But it’s hard! It is federal law, and covers hundreds of years! (The first Copyright act was signed by George Washington in 1790.)

The consequences for violations of  copyright can be fearsome and expensive.

We are often expected to be the experts in copyright, and to help adjudicate the material for others. But the secret most of us harbor in our hearts is this: it’s just so confusing, too often we are guessing.

Whew! Everyone feel better now that we all know we ALL feel a lack of knowledge on this? Good!

Fortunately, there is information not only available but easily understandable! And it’s fun enough that you won’t mind sharing it to with patrons, Board members,  or anyone else who needs a quick refresher!

The Duke University’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain has produced a really good graphic novel that provides some great information: Bound by Law? Tales from the Public Domain.

“A documentary is being filmed. A cell phone rings, playing the “Rocky” theme song. The filmmaker is told she must pay $10,000 to clear the rights to the song. Can this be true? “Eyes on the Prize,” the great civil rights documentary, was pulled from circulation because the filmmakers’ rights to music and footage had expired. What’s going on here? It’s the collision of documentary filmmaking and intellectual property law, and it’s the inspiration for this new comic book. Follow its heroine Akiko as she films her documentary, and navigates the twists and turns of intellectual property. Why do we have copyrights? What’s “fair use”? Bound By Law reaches beyond documentary film to provide a commentary on the most pressing issues facing law, art, property and an increasingly digital world of remixed culture.”

They are working to distribute this to everyone who needs it. So there are free digital copies available to anyone. And you can buy paper copies, either as single copies or 25 or more at an educator’s discount.

Do you just want to spend a few minutes watching an entertaining, and educational, video on copyright? Sure! Why not??

This is a video that is NOT a copyright violation, due to it’s very (VERY!) brief usage of Disney moves to explain the basics of copyright law – including the role Disney has played in extending the laws.

Copyright is a huge issue in so many libraries today. CMLE Headquarters will help to organize some training on this issue, or to help libraries connect with each other to talk about the specific issues they are facing in their daily work. We will also periodically add material here to this site, so you can reference it when you need it.

 

Academic, Check this out:, CMLE, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Identifying Stakeholders (Advocacy Series #2)

Stakeholders are the lifeblood of a library. They are our audience and our supporters. We need to keep them happy, and to give them all the materials and services they want and need. We need to justify our expenditures and our existence to them.

In short: Stakeholders are a big deal.

But who are they? How do we find them? Could they be labeled (maybe with a nice bar code) so we can be sure we are there for them?? (Short answer: No. That would be way too easy!)

Identify Stakeholders

Identification is both a challenge, and the easiest part of it all. Sit down at your desk, or with your colleagues, and make a list of the first people you can think of who are important to your library – who have a stake in it.

Pretty easy, right? Sophomores, tiny kids and their parents. Provosts and Mayors. Doctors, prisoners, soccer moms. Essentially it’s the people in your neighborhood.

Continue reading Identifying Stakeholders (Advocacy Series #2) →

Academic, Check this out:, CMLE, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Special

Advocacy from ALA! (Advocacy Series #1)

advocacy
Let’s talk about libraries!

This is a huge topic for all libraries! If you think your library does not need advocacy, ask yourself: do you like getting paid? Do you like to have materials for your patrons? Is it fun to have a building to shelter your stuff from the rain??

It can all go away without good advocacy!!

We all know it’s important, but it sounds scary. Halloween is over; so no need for terror. Advocacy in generally pretty simple. It goes like this:

  • We have good stuff
  • We tell people about our good stuff
  • We connect that message to them, in a way that resonates with them
  • We get more resources (money, etc.) to keep our stuff and get more
  • We have good stuff

See? It’s easy!

Okay, of course there is a little more to it. We can add in some details, work through some ideas – but this is the gist of it all.

And, like all the other big important topics in the library world – you are not alone here. The American Library Association has you covered with information and training. Continue reading Advocacy from ALA! (Advocacy Series #1) →

Academic, Check this out:, CMLE, General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist, Special

Strategies to Simplify: Tip 8: Stop drowning in papers

“Work simply. Live fully.”  This week CMLE focuses on the following work productivity tip from Work Simply, Carson Tate’s popular book.  At CMLE, we’ve boiled down Tate’s wealth of knowledge from Work Simply to a few key points; please see the book for more detail and resources. At the bottom, see links to earlier tips in the series! Let’s all be our best selves….

This week’s activity: Handle your paperwork efficiently

Do you struggle with paper clutter and have trouble locating necessary information when it is needed? These common situations prove Carson Tate’s statement that “Paper management is still important in today’s electronic world – in fact, it is vital.” In her book Work Simply, Tate shares the four steps to take when encountering new paper documents (you may recognize them – they are also the steps of the Email Agility system, tweaked slightly to be relevant to paper files)

Read

Decide: Does this document require some kind of action? If yes – skip to the next step. If no, ask yourself: Am I required to keep this paper for tax, legal, or compliance reasons? When would I need to access this information again? Where else can I find this information?

Act: Choose to complete the action required right now, delegate the action, or create a task to be worked on.

Contain: Clean up the paper chaos – use file folders, cases, baskets, etc. to keep your essential documents together. Tate suggests creating two main categories: Reference and Action, with subcategories in each group.

Continue reading Strategies to Simplify: Tip 8: Stop drowning in papers →