Tag Archives: academic library

Academic, Resources

Publishers Still Fighting to Bury Universities, Libraries in Fees for Making Fair Use of Academic Excerpts

Fair use logo
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

“On behalf of three national library associations, EFF today urged a federal appeals court for the second time to protect librarians’ and students’ rights to make fair use of excerpts from academic books and research.

Nearly a decade ago, three of the largest academic publishers in the world— backed by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) trade group— sued Georgia State University (GSU) for copyright infringement, insisting that GSU owed licensing fees for the use of excerpts of academic works in its electronic reserve system. Such systems are commonly used to help students save money; rather than forcing students to buy a whole book when they only need a short excerpt from it, professors will place the excerpts “on reserve” for students to access. GSU argued that posting excerpts in the e-reserve systems was a “fair use” of the material, thus not subject to licensing fees. GSU also changed its e-reserve policy to ensure its practices were consistent with a set of fair use best practices that were developed pursuant to a broad consensus among libraries and other stakeholders. The practices are widely used, and were even praised by the AAP itself. ”

(Read the rest of this article!)

Academic, Books, Research

Primary Research Group has published the International Survey of Research University Faculty


Primary Research Group has published the International Survey of Research University Faculty: Use of Academic Library Special  Collections, ISBN 978-157440-439-5

The study presents data from a survey of 500+ faculty at more than 50 major research universities in the USA, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom & Ireland about their use and evaluation of academic library special collections in rare books & documents, film & video, music, photography, rare biological specimens, personal archives, posters and guidebooks and other commercial materials, oral history and many other areas.  The report presents data separately for use of special collections at one’s own university and for use of special collections at other institutions.  The study also gives data on the percentage of faculty that recommend special collections to students, other faculty or other parties. Survey participants name some of their favorite special collections and rate their general level of satisfaction with academic library special collections.

Data in the 196-page study is broken out by more than 10 criteria including but not limited to academic title, age, gender, national origin of university, public/private status, teaching load, tenure status, university ranking and other variables.

The report presents data and commentary on extent of use of various collections, and evaluation of various special collections practices and offerings such as hours of access, quality of digitization, general ease of use, online access, terms of use or borrowing and other factors.

Just a few of the report’s many findings are that:

  • 21.47% of faculty in the Media and Visual and Performing Arts fields accessed photography special collections from outside their institution in the past three years, the most in the sample, followed by those in the Literature and Language fields, 10.00%.
  • Satisfaction with special collections did not vary widely with institution size or type, or with respondent age, gender, political views, or academic field. However, respondents from Canadian universities were relatively more satisfied than were those from other countries with their institution’s special collections,
  • More than a quarter of those age 60 and over found special collections just as easy or easier to find and use than standard library collections, compared to just 11.43% of respondents age 30 and under.
  • Respondents to the far left of the political spectrum reported the highest use special collections based on personal archives or estates, 7.61%, but otherwise political views had no clear impact on utilization of personal archives or estates.
  • 9.73% of respondents teaching more than two courses in the past semester were dissatisfied with levels of online access to collections of catalogs, posters, guides and other commercial materials, compared to less than 3.5% of those teaching two courses or less.For further information view our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com.
Communication, General

The university library cat

Libraries and cats go together in good partnerships. Finding cats in libraries is not uncommon, but this cat has moved herself into a university library on her own!

“Her name is Fräulein Sinner. This tabby-and-white girl should, in theory, be expert in fields such as child care, environmental issues, languages, democratic social networks, and artists’ roles in political change.

Why? Well, when biologists, educational specialists, or sociopolitical researchers at Hildesheim University in Germany are teaching, this campus cat will roam the hallways and join the human students. Her favorite place? The cozy armchair in front of lecture hall three, where she secretly learns and listens to everything that is being taught.”

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Advocacy, Programs, Resources, Training

Clicking the Bait: Helping Patrons Decipher Fake News and Alternative Facts

This, and many other opportunities, can be found on our Continuing Education calendar! Check it often, or add it to your own Google calendar, to be sure you see all the neat opportunities happening for you around the profession.

And remember that CMLE has up to $200 in scholarship money for you (yes – YOU!) to attend a training program or conference each year. (We ask you to tell us about your experience in return, so it’s pretty painless!)
How to spot fake news

Clicking the Bait: Helping Patrons Decipher Fake News and Alternative Facts

March 29, 2017, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm CDT

Continue reading Clicking the Bait: Helping Patrons Decipher Fake News and Alternative Facts →

Academic, Research

Looking for first year academic library instruction info!

Are you working with first year students in academic libraries? We are passing on a survey a group from ACRL. Share your ideas with them, and make everyone’s experience stronger!

Dear Colleagues,

We want to learn about your pedagogical approach to first-year student library instruction.  We are currently interviewing students, but want to learn from you as well. Our hope is to find a set of themes that can serve as a foundation for planning information literacy instruction that emphasizes students’ existing strengths in using information. Continue reading Looking for first year academic library instruction info! →