David Rapp, Digital Shift; Library Copyright Alliance Releases Letter Welcoming OPEN Act:
"Earlier this week, the Library Copyright Alliance (LCA)—made up of the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and the Association of College & Research Libraries—released an open letter [PDF] to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), “welcoming [the] release” of a discussion draft bill the legislators have sponsored. Called the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade (OPEN) Act, the bill has been touted as a potential alternative to SOPA."
Showing posts with label ARL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ARL. Show all posts
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Uncertainty About 'Fair Use' Is Hurting Academic and Research Libraries, ARL Report Says; Library Journal, 12/28/10
Michael Kelley, Library Journal; Uncertainty About 'Fair Use' Is Hurting Academic and Research Libraries, ARL Report Says:
"A lack of consensus about how to apply the fair use provision of copyright law is consistently impairing the mission of academic and research libraries, according to a new report.
The report, released December 20 by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), concludes that librarians often feel ill-equipped to make decisions about fair use and increasingly have as their primary goal avoiding litigation and harm to their institution, regardless of what the law allows and what the user community needs."
"A lack of consensus about how to apply the fair use provision of copyright law is consistently impairing the mission of academic and research libraries, according to a new report.
The report, released December 20 by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), concludes that librarians often feel ill-equipped to make decisions about fair use and increasingly have as their primary goal avoiding litigation and harm to their institution, regardless of what the law allows and what the user community needs."
Friday, July 9, 2010
Stanford Ushers In The Age Of Bookless Libraries; NPR, 7/8/10
Laura Sydell, NPR; Stanford Ushers In The Age Of Bookless Libraries:
"The periodical shelves at Stanford University’s Engineering Library are nearly bare. Library chief Helen Josephine says that in the past five years, most engineering periodicals have been moved online, making their print versions pretty obsolete — and books aren't doing much better.
According to Josephine, students can now browse those periodicals from their laptops or mobile devices.
For years, students have had to search through volume after volume of books before finding the right formula — but no more. Josephine says that "with books being digitized and available through full text search capabilities, they can find that formula quite easily."
In 2005, when the university realized it was running out space for its growing collection of 80,000 engineering books, administrators decided to build a new library. But instead of creating more space for books, they chose to create less.
The new library is set to open in August with 10,000 engineering books on the shelves — a decrease of more than 85 percent from the old library. Stanford library director Michael Keller says the librarians determined which books to keep on the shelf by looking at how frequently a book was checked out. They found that the vast majority of the collection hadn't been taken off the shelf in five years.
Keller expects that, eventually, there won't be any books on the shelves at all.
"As the world turns more and more, the items that appeared in physical form in previous decades and centuries are appearing in digital form," he says.
Given the nature of engineering, that actually comes in handy. Engineering uses some basic formulas but is generally a rapidly changing field — particularly in specialties such as software and bioengineering. Traditional textbooks have rarely been able to keep up.
Jim Plummer, dean of Stanford's School of Engineering, says that's why his faculty is increasingly using e-books.
"It allows our faculty to change examples," he says," to put in new homework problems ... and lectures and things like that in almost a real-time way."
A New Trend In Libraries?
For the moment, the Engineering Library is the only Stanford library that's cutting back on books. But Keller says he can see what's coming down the road by simply looking at the current crop of Stanford students.
"They write their papers online, and they read articles online, and many, many, many of them read chapters and books online," he says. "I can see in this population of students behaviors that clearly indicate where this is all going."
And while it's still rare among American libraries to get rid of such a large amount of books, it's clear that many are starting to lay the groundwork for a different future. According to a survey by the Association of Research Libraries, American libraries are spending more of their money on electronic resources and less on books.
Cornell University's Engineering Library recently announced an initiative similar to Stanford's — but the move to electronic books is also meeting some resistance. An effort by Arizona State University to use Amazon's Kindle to distribute electronic textbooks was met with a lawsuit because the device wasn't fully accessible to the visually impaired.
Meanwhile, back at Stanford's new Engineering Library, librarians are looking forward to spending less time with books and more time with people.
"That's what we're so [excited about]," Josephine says, "the idea of actually offering more services, offering more workshops, offering more one-on-one time with students."
But some Stanford students express mixed feelings about the shift. Engineering student Sam Tsai is checking out some old-fashioned paper books.
"To read a book on the screen is kind of tiring for me," Tsai says, "so I sometimes like [the] paper form. But if I can access books online, it's much more convenient for me, so I would actually prefer that as well."
For now, at least, Tsai can have the option of both."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128361395&ps=cprs
"The periodical shelves at Stanford University’s Engineering Library are nearly bare. Library chief Helen Josephine says that in the past five years, most engineering periodicals have been moved online, making their print versions pretty obsolete — and books aren't doing much better.
According to Josephine, students can now browse those periodicals from their laptops or mobile devices.
For years, students have had to search through volume after volume of books before finding the right formula — but no more. Josephine says that "with books being digitized and available through full text search capabilities, they can find that formula quite easily."
In 2005, when the university realized it was running out space for its growing collection of 80,000 engineering books, administrators decided to build a new library. But instead of creating more space for books, they chose to create less.
The new library is set to open in August with 10,000 engineering books on the shelves — a decrease of more than 85 percent from the old library. Stanford library director Michael Keller says the librarians determined which books to keep on the shelf by looking at how frequently a book was checked out. They found that the vast majority of the collection hadn't been taken off the shelf in five years.
Keller expects that, eventually, there won't be any books on the shelves at all.
"As the world turns more and more, the items that appeared in physical form in previous decades and centuries are appearing in digital form," he says.
Given the nature of engineering, that actually comes in handy. Engineering uses some basic formulas but is generally a rapidly changing field — particularly in specialties such as software and bioengineering. Traditional textbooks have rarely been able to keep up.
Jim Plummer, dean of Stanford's School of Engineering, says that's why his faculty is increasingly using e-books.
"It allows our faculty to change examples," he says," to put in new homework problems ... and lectures and things like that in almost a real-time way."
A New Trend In Libraries?
For the moment, the Engineering Library is the only Stanford library that's cutting back on books. But Keller says he can see what's coming down the road by simply looking at the current crop of Stanford students.
"They write their papers online, and they read articles online, and many, many, many of them read chapters and books online," he says. "I can see in this population of students behaviors that clearly indicate where this is all going."
And while it's still rare among American libraries to get rid of such a large amount of books, it's clear that many are starting to lay the groundwork for a different future. According to a survey by the Association of Research Libraries, American libraries are spending more of their money on electronic resources and less on books.
Cornell University's Engineering Library recently announced an initiative similar to Stanford's — but the move to electronic books is also meeting some resistance. An effort by Arizona State University to use Amazon's Kindle to distribute electronic textbooks was met with a lawsuit because the device wasn't fully accessible to the visually impaired.
Meanwhile, back at Stanford's new Engineering Library, librarians are looking forward to spending less time with books and more time with people.
"That's what we're so [excited about]," Josephine says, "the idea of actually offering more services, offering more workshops, offering more one-on-one time with students."
But some Stanford students express mixed feelings about the shift. Engineering student Sam Tsai is checking out some old-fashioned paper books.
"To read a book on the screen is kind of tiring for me," Tsai says, "so I sometimes like [the] paper form. But if I can access books online, it's much more convenient for me, so I would actually prefer that as well."
For now, at least, Tsai can have the option of both."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128361395&ps=cprs
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Library Associations Support Online Software Reseller in Vernor v. Autodesk infringement lawsuit; District Dispatch, ALA Washington Office, 2/16/10
District Dispatch, ALA Washington Office; Library Associations Support Online Software Reseller in Vernor v. Autodesk infringement lawsuit:
"On Thursday, February 11, the American Library Association (ALA), the Association for College & Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) – the Library Associations – joined a coalition of public interest and consumer groups in urging a federal appeals court to preserve consumers’ rights and the First Sale Doctrine (which allows libraries to lend books) in a battle over an Internet auction of used computer software.
An amicus curiae brief was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the Electronic Frontier Foundation – joined by the Library Associations, the Consumer Federation of America, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, and Public Knowledge – in support of plaintiff Timothy Vernor. Vernor is an online software reseller who tried to auction four authentic packages of Autodesk’s AutoCAD software on eBay. Autodesk sent takedown notices to block his auctions and threatened to sue him for copyright infringement, claiming that its software is only “licensed,” never sold.
At the heart of the case is the First Sale Doctrine – an important limitation under Copyright law that gives copyright holders control over the first vending or sale of their work(s). The first sale doctrine steps in after an individual copy has been sold and puts further disposition of the copy beyond the reach of the copyright owner. The first sale doctrine is fundamental for libraries and other organizations such as archives, used bookstores and online auctions, as it allows a “second life” for copyrighted works.
The brief argues, in part, that the first sale doctrine is well-established, serves critical economic and democratic values, and promotes access to knowledge, preservation of culture, and resistance to censorship. Libraries rely on provisions in the Copyright Act, such as first sale, to accept donations of special collections and to preserve these works. If Autodesk wins this case, software vendors would potentially be permitted to evade the first sale doctrine via contractual license agreements. Such a ruling could allow other copyright owners to follow suit with licenses on books, CDs, DVDs, and other media, with strong implications for libraries and our users.
The full amicus brief can be viewed here."
http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=4388
"On Thursday, February 11, the American Library Association (ALA), the Association for College & Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) – the Library Associations – joined a coalition of public interest and consumer groups in urging a federal appeals court to preserve consumers’ rights and the First Sale Doctrine (which allows libraries to lend books) in a battle over an Internet auction of used computer software.
An amicus curiae brief was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the Electronic Frontier Foundation – joined by the Library Associations, the Consumer Federation of America, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, and Public Knowledge – in support of plaintiff Timothy Vernor. Vernor is an online software reseller who tried to auction four authentic packages of Autodesk’s AutoCAD software on eBay. Autodesk sent takedown notices to block his auctions and threatened to sue him for copyright infringement, claiming that its software is only “licensed,” never sold.
At the heart of the case is the First Sale Doctrine – an important limitation under Copyright law that gives copyright holders control over the first vending or sale of their work(s). The first sale doctrine steps in after an individual copy has been sold and puts further disposition of the copy beyond the reach of the copyright owner. The first sale doctrine is fundamental for libraries and other organizations such as archives, used bookstores and online auctions, as it allows a “second life” for copyrighted works.
The brief argues, in part, that the first sale doctrine is well-established, serves critical economic and democratic values, and promotes access to knowledge, preservation of culture, and resistance to censorship. Libraries rely on provisions in the Copyright Act, such as first sale, to accept donations of special collections and to preserve these works. If Autodesk wins this case, software vendors would potentially be permitted to evade the first sale doctrine via contractual license agreements. Such a ruling could allow other copyright owners to follow suit with licenses on books, CDs, DVDs, and other media, with strong implications for libraries and our users.
The full amicus brief can be viewed here."
http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=4388
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Libraries ask for oversight of Google books product; Reuters, 12/17/09
Reuters; Libraries ask for oversight of Google books product:
"The American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Association of Research Libraries said that there was unlikely to be an effective competitor to Google's massive project in the near term.
It asked the government to urge the court to use its oversight authority to prevent abusive pricing of the online book project.
"The United States should carefully monitor implementation of the settlement, including the pricing of the institutional subscription," the library organizations said in their letter, which was dated December 15 but released on Thursday.
It was addressed to William Cavanaugh, deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's antitrust division."
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BG5AY20091217?type=artsNews
"The American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Association of Research Libraries said that there was unlikely to be an effective competitor to Google's massive project in the near term.
It asked the government to urge the court to use its oversight authority to prevent abusive pricing of the online book project.
"The United States should carefully monitor implementation of the settlement, including the pricing of the institutional subscription," the library organizations said in their letter, which was dated December 15 but released on Thursday.
It was addressed to William Cavanaugh, deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's antitrust division."
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BG5AY20091217?type=artsNews
Friday, August 7, 2009
Library Organizations Urge DoJ To Take Proactive Role in Google Book Search Settlement; Library Journal, 8/6/09
Norman Oder via Library Journal; Library Organizations Urge DoJ To Take Proactive Role in Google Book Search Settlement:
Groups express concerns about pricing, composition of Book Rights Registry:
"Letter follows up on May meeting.
DoJ should treat settlement as consent decree.
OCA asks Google to request delay in hearing."
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6675219.html
Groups express concerns about pricing, composition of Book Rights Registry:
"Letter follows up on May meeting.
DoJ should treat settlement as consent decree.
OCA asks Google to request delay in hearing."
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6675219.html
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Press Release: Library Groups Advise DOJ on Proposed Google Book Search Settlement; Association of Research Libraries, 7/30/09
Press Release: Library Groups Advise DOJ on Proposed Google Book Search Settlement; Association of Research Libraries:
"The American Library Association (ALA), the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) sent a letter to William Cavanaugh, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division yesterday, requesting the Division to advise the court presiding over the Google Book Settlement to supervise the implementation of the settlement closely, particularly the pricing of institutional subscriptions and the selection of the Book Rights Registry board members.
The letter, which was sent following a meeting the library groups had with the Antitrust Division, also recommended that the Division itself actively monitor the parties’ compliance with the settlement’s provisions."
http://www.arl.org/pp/ppcopyright/google/googledoj.shtml
"The American Library Association (ALA), the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) sent a letter to William Cavanaugh, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division yesterday, requesting the Division to advise the court presiding over the Google Book Settlement to supervise the implementation of the settlement closely, particularly the pricing of institutional subscriptions and the selection of the Book Rights Registry board members.
The letter, which was sent following a meeting the library groups had with the Antitrust Division, also recommended that the Division itself actively monitor the parties’ compliance with the settlement’s provisions."
http://www.arl.org/pp/ppcopyright/google/googledoj.shtml
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Library groups gripe about Google Book Search; CNet News, 5/4/09
Via CNet News: Library groups gripe about Google Book Search:
"Three groups representing hundreds of libraries lodged a long series of concerns about a proposed settlement of lawsuits over Google Book Search on Monday--but refrained from objecting overall.
Specifically, the American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the Association of Research Libraries expressed some affinity for Google's mission of sharing books with the public, but raised concerns in a legal filing that the settlement would concentrate power in Google's hands and poses pricing and privacy concerns."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10233158-93.html
"Three groups representing hundreds of libraries lodged a long series of concerns about a proposed settlement of lawsuits over Google Book Search on Monday--but refrained from objecting overall.
Specifically, the American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the Association of Research Libraries expressed some affinity for Google's mission of sharing books with the public, but raised concerns in a legal filing that the settlement would concentrate power in Google's hands and poses pricing and privacy concerns."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10233158-93.html
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Library Copyright Alliance
Library Copyright Alliance: Homepage statement:
"The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) consists of five major library associations - the American Association of Law Libraries, the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association. These five associations collectively represent over 80,000 information professionals and thousands of libraries of all kinds throughout the United States. These five associations cooperate in the LCA to address copyright issues that affect libraries and their patrons. For over ten years now, our five library associations have worked together as a coalition.
The purpose of the LCA is to work toward a unified voice and common strategy for the library community in responding to and developing proposals to amend national and international copyright law and policy for the digital environment. The LCA's mission is to foster global access and fair use of information for creativity, research, and education.
Copyright and related intellectual property laws have important and substantial effects on the nature and extent of information services libraries provide to their users. Intellectual property laws are currently undergoing major changes in response to the growth in the use of digital formats for works.
The LCA is principally concerned that these changes do not harm, but rather enhance, the ability of libraries and information professionals to serve the needs of people to access, use, and preserve digital information. Our concern in [sic] heightened because of emerging technology applied to copyrighted works that is intended to prohibit access, use and preservation of digital information."
http://www.librarycopyrightalliance.org/
"The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) consists of five major library associations - the American Association of Law Libraries, the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association. These five associations collectively represent over 80,000 information professionals and thousands of libraries of all kinds throughout the United States. These five associations cooperate in the LCA to address copyright issues that affect libraries and their patrons. For over ten years now, our five library associations have worked together as a coalition.
The purpose of the LCA is to work toward a unified voice and common strategy for the library community in responding to and developing proposals to amend national and international copyright law and policy for the digital environment. The LCA's mission is to foster global access and fair use of information for creativity, research, and education.
Copyright and related intellectual property laws have important and substantial effects on the nature and extent of information services libraries provide to their users. Intellectual property laws are currently undergoing major changes in response to the growth in the use of digital formats for works.
The LCA is principally concerned that these changes do not harm, but rather enhance, the ability of libraries and information professionals to serve the needs of people to access, use, and preserve digital information. Our concern in [sic] heightened because of emerging technology applied to copyrighted works that is intended to prohibit access, use and preservation of digital information."
http://www.librarycopyrightalliance.org/
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