List of Books Removed from USNA Library; America's Navy, April 4, 2025

America's Navy; List of Books Removed from USNA Library

[Kip Currier: The freedoms to read, speak, and think are fundamental American values enshrined by our Constitution. Libraries should and must have books and resources that represent a wide range of information, views, and lived experiences. Whether or not we as individuals or members of groups agree or disagree with every book in a library is immaterial and contrary to our freedoms. As the late Robert Croneberger, Director of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (1986-1998), aptly observed, a library is not doing its job if it doesn't have at least one book that offends every person.

Military service members have served, fought, and died to preserve our freedoms and core values. Enlisted persons and their families should and must have access to a broad continuum of ideas and information. Anything less is blatant censorship that is antithetical to the American way of life.]

[Excerpts from list]

     "How to be an antiracist / Ibram X. Kendi.

Uncomfortable conversations with a black man / Emmanuel Acho.

Why didn't we riot? : a Black man in Trumpland / Issac J. Bailey.

Long time coming : reckoning with race in America / Michael Eric Dyson.

State of emergency : how we win in the country we built / Tamika D. Mallory as told to Ashley A. Coleman ; [forewords, Angela Y. Davis and Cardi B].

How we can win : race, history and changing the money game that's rigged / Kimberly Jones.

My vanishing country : a memoir / Bakari Sellers.

The gangs of Zion : a Black cop's crusade in Mormon country / Ron Stallworth, with Sofia Quintero.

American hate : survivors speak out / edited by Arjun Singh Sethi.

The rage of innocence : how America criminalizes Black youth /
Kristin Henning.

Our time is now : power, purpose, and the fight for a fair America /
Stacey Abrams.

What's your pronoun? : beyond he & she / Dennis Baron.

Rainbow milk : a novel / Paul Mendez.

The genesis of misery / Neon Yang.

The last white man / Mohsin Hamid.

Light from uncommon stars / Ryka Aoki.

Everywhere you don't belong : a novel / by Gabriel Bump.

Evil eye : a novel / Etaf Rum.

Lies my teacher told me : everything your American history
textbook got wrong / James W. Loewen.

Gender queer : a memoir / by Maia Kobabe ; colors by Phoebe
Kobabe.

The third person / Emma Grove."

Celebrate the grand opening of Kentucky’s newest Patent and Trademark Resource Center; United States Patent and Trademark Center (USPTO), December 19, 2024

United States Patent and Trademark Center (USPTO); Celebrate the grand opening of Kentucky’s newest Patent and Trademark Resource Center

"Kentucky innovators, join us in person on Tuesday, January 7, from 3-6 p.m. ET for the grand opening of the Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) at the University of Louisville’s Kornhauser Health Sciences Library.  

Celebrate this addition to the innovation community with remarks from USPTO and university leadership and an official ribbon cutting. You’ll learn about the vital role of intellectual property (IP) in Kentucky and the numerous resources available to help innovators protect their IP.  

After the program concludes, join your fellow creators for an informal networking session at the Louisville Thoroughbred Society from 6:30-8 p.m. ET."

Who uses libraries? Even in the stacks, there’s a political divide.; The Washington Post, October 4, 2024

 Andrew Van Dam, The Washington Post; Who uses libraries? Even in the stacks, there’s a political divide.

"When we took a look at the nation’s declining reading habits, our struggling bookstores and the prodigious number of books consumed by America’s top 1 percent of readers, scores of you wrote in with a singular question: What about the libraries?!

You people sure do love libraries! You wanted to know everything. Who are the biggest library users? How many of our books do we get from libraries? What else do we use libraries for?

We scoured all the government sources we could think of before turning to the cabal of polling prodigies over at YouGov to see what they could gin up.

As usual, YouGov exceeded our expectations, asking at least 50 library-related questions of 2,429 U.S. adults in April. They touched on just about everything: librarian approval ratings, restrictions on drag queen story times, number of books read. They also asked about the library services we actually use, up to and including how many of us avail ourselves of the library restrooms."

Figuring Out Fair Use; American Libraries, November 1, 2023

 Carrie Russell , American Libraries; Figuring Out Fair Use: Debunking copyright myths and misconceptions

"To manage copyright effectively in your school, begin by understanding the purpose of the law. Learn basic concepts—exclusive rights, public domain, requirements for protection—and apply all available exceptions to the advantage of your school community. Make informed decisions but accept ambiguity and clear your mind of misinformation. Below I have outlined the top five copyright misconceptions to get you started."

An Apparent Cyberattack Hushes the British Library; The New York Times, November 3, 2023

 Alex Marshall, The New York Times; An Apparent Cyberattack Hushes the British Library

"Tasmina Islam, a lecturer in cybersecurity education at King’s College London said in an email that the motivation for attacking a library could be financial.

“Cybercriminals can access a lot of information from a library, including users’ personal data,” she said. Libraries also “store electronic books, research articles and various intellectual properties, all of which cybercriminals can exploit for illegal distribution,” Islam added.

The British Library incident “served as a warning for other libraries and institutions to assess their own security measures thoroughly,” she said."

Inside The Anti-Ownership Ebook Economy; Library Journal, August 3, 2023

 Claire Woodcock  , Library Journal; Inside The Anti-Ownership Ebook Economy

"Most libraries don’t own their own ebooks. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to LJ readers, yet it’s a statement that continues to confound elected officials and administrators who get an astounding amount of say in how much money public and academic libraries are allotted.

This is one of the reasons I, along with my coauthors Sarah Lamdan, Michael Weinberg, and Jason Schultz at the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy at New York University (NYU) Law, published our recent report, The Anti-Ownership Ebook Economy: How Publishers and Platforms Have Reshaped the Way We Read in the Digital Age. In nearly 60 pages, this report takes a hard look at how license agreements dictate what consumers—both individual and institutional—get to do with their digital book collections."

Study: 87% of Classic Video Games Are Endangered, Mostly Due to Copyright Laws, ExtremeTech, July 12, 2023

 Josh Norem , ExtremeTech; Study: 87% of Classic Video Games Are Endangered, Mostly Due to Copyright Laws

"In a perfect world, you'd be able to find these pieces of history at your local library, just like you do for books and movies. According to the study's authors, outdated copyright laws prevent that from happening."

Why Does the U.S. Copyright Office Require Libraries to Lie to Users about Their Fair Use Rights? They Won’t Say.; The Scholarly Kitchen, July 5, 2023

RICK ANDERSON, The Scholarly Kitchen; Why Does the U.S. Copyright Office Require Libraries to Lie to Users about Their Fair Use Rights? They Won’t Say.

"Let’s be clear about what the problem is here. It’s not that patrons who use library-provided copies of copyrighted works in a manner beyond the scope of “private study, scholarship, or research” are in legal danger if their use falls within the full range of the fair use provisions in section 107. Again, the language of section 108 makes it very clear that owners of such copies are entirely within their rights to make full (fair) use of them, regardless of what the copyright warning notice prescribed by the Copyright Office says. The problem is that the Copyright Office, under color of authority ostensibly assigned to it by statute, requires libraries to misinform patrons about their rights. Although library patrons are in reality free to make full fair use of copies we provide them (or copies they make on our premises), we must tell them – every time they make or request a copy from us – that they have only a small subset of those rights.

How much does this disinformation end up constraining patrons’ exercise of their full rights under the law? It’s impossible to know, of course. But as a profession that sees itself at the vanguard of the fight against both mis- and disinformation, it certainly should rankle us that we’ve been drafted into a disinformation campaign that affects so many information seekers so directly.

It should rankle us even more that the U.S. Copyright Office, the very entity that has created this issue and is uniquely empowered to fix it, seems to have no interest in doing so. I hope my library colleagues (and everyone else who cares about libraries and archives, and about fair use) will join me in calling on the Copyright Office to change the language of its prescribed copyright warning notice, bringing it into full conformity with what the law actually says. (I’ve created an online petition for this purpose, and encourage all interested to sign it.)"

Zoom Panel: Haven’t We Been Here Before: A Panel Discussion on Banning LGBTQIA+ Books. Wednesday, April 5. 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM EDT. University of Pittsburgh

Haven’t We Been Here Before: A Panel Discussion on Banning LGBTQIA+ Books. Wednesday, April 5. 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM EDT. University of Pittsburgh

https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/been_here_before#.ZCgmRi-B2_U

[This session will be live via Zoom and also recorded for asynchronous viewing, following processing by Pitt. See registration link.]

There has been a recent uptick in attempts to remove or ban certain books from schools, public libraries and other educational spaces. In 2022 alone, 4 in 10 banned books contained LGBTQIA+ themes and representation, according to PEN America, a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression through the advancement of literature and human rights. 

Join the University Library System and the Pitt Queer Professionals for a lively virtual panel discussion with education, literary and legal experts on intellectual freedom and the societal impact of banning books. Guest panelists will be Dr. James “Kip” Currier, Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information (SCI) in the Information Culture and Data Stewardship (ICDS) Department, Dr. Katrina Bartow Jacobs, Associate Professor of Practice of Language, Literacy, and Culture within the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Leading and Jeff Trexler, Interim Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, an American non-profit organization formed to protect the First Amendment rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers. The panel will be moderated by Acacia O’Connor (they/them/theirs) currently the University’s Executive Director of Social Media, and former manager of the Kids’ Right to Read Project of the National Coalition Against Censorship.  

Dial-In Information

Register at https://pitt.libcal.com/event/10570583Links to an external site.

Wednesday, April 5 at 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

 Virtual Event

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Publishers beat Internet Archive as judge rules e-book lending violates copyright; Ars Technica, March 27, 2023

ASHLEY BELANGER, Ars Technica; Publishers beat Internet Archive as judge rules e-book lending violates copyright

Internet Archive: Judge’s copyright ruling is a “blow to all libraries.”

"On Friday, a US district judge ruled in favor of book publishers suing the Internet Archive (IA) for copyright infringement. The IA’s Open Library project—which partners with libraries to scan print books in their collections and offer them as lendable e-books—had no right to reproduce 127 of the publishers’ books named in the suit, judge John Koeltl decided."

The Internet Archive Is a Library; Inside Higher Ed, March 17, 2023

Dave Hansen, Deborah Jakubs, Chris Bourg, Thomas Leonard, Jeff MacKie-Mason, Joseph A. Salem Jr., MacKenzie Smith, and Winston Tabb, Inside Higher Ed; The Internet Archive Is a Library

"Why is it so important to the publishers that the Internet Archive not be identified as a library? Primarily because Congress has long recognized the valuable role that libraries play in our copyright system and has created special allowances in the law for their work. In this suit, the publishers seek to redefine the Internet Archive on their own terms and, in so doing, deny it the ability to leverage the same legal tools that thousands of other libraries use to lend and disseminate materials to our users.

The argument that the Internet Archive isn’t a library is wrong. If this argument is accepted, the results would jeopardize the future development of digital libraries nationwide. The Internet Archive is the most significant specialized library to emerge in decades. It is one of the only major memory institutions to be created from the emergence of the internet. It is, and continues to be, a modern-day cultural institution built intentionally in response to the technological revolution through which we’ve lived."

Libraries offering Intellectual Property workshop series; WV Mountaineer ENews, February 13, 2023

WV Mountaineer ENews; Libraries offering Intellectual Property workshop series

"This series of Intellectual Property workshops includes introduction, copyright, trademarks, and patents. While these workshops primarily focus on how to search, the participant will learn different aspects of IP as well as familiarity with websites. 

Trademarks: What's In a Name
If you have a new business name or a new product, attend this workshop and learn how to protect your name and avoid counterfeiting someone else’s. 
Register for this workshop scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21

Patents: Learning How to Search
Knowing how to search patents is helpful for inventors to see what similar items already exist and it can help in researching older technologies and figuring out how a new technology works. Attend this workshop to learn about how searching patents using classification will assist you.
Register for this workshop scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 7 

Copyright and your Thesis or Dissertation
Join us for a workshop specifically about copyright and graduate student work. We will cover copyright issues specific to theses and dissertations, including your rights as a user of others’ work, the permissions you need to gain, and your own rights over your ETD.
Register for the workshop scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon Monday, March 27 

Register for the workshop scheduled for 2-3 p.m. Tuesday, April 4

Register for the workshop scheduled for 2-3 p.m. Tuesday, April 12"

The CASE Act for Libraries and Archives; Library of Congress, May 2, 2022

Holland Gormley, Library of Congress; The CASE Act for Libraries and Archives

"Calling all libraries and archives! You may have heard about the CASE Act and the establishment of the Copyright Claims Board, or CCB for short, a new forum for resolving copyright disputes involving damages of up to $30,000, staffed by experts in copyright law. But did you know that qualifying libraries and archives can preemptively opt out of participating in the CCB even before any claim is brought against them? Here is what you need to know."

The Top 10 Library Stories of 2022; Publishers Weekly, December 9, 2023

Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly; The Top 10 Library Stories of 2022

PW looks back at the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year, and what they portend for 2023

"6. A Federal Judge Blocks Maryland’s Library E-book Law

It was big news in 2021 when legislators in Maryland unanimously passed a law to protect libraries in the digital marketplace. But after the Association of American Publishers sued, a federal court struck the law down in February 2022.

Introduced in January 2021, the Maryland law emerged after more than a decade of tension in the library e-book market,with librarians complaining of non-negotiated, unsustainable prices for digital licenses. More specifically, the law came as a direct response to Macmillan’s controversial (and since-abandoned) 2019 embargo on frontlist e-book titles in libraries, which librarians rejected as fundamentally inequitable.

From the outset, however, the AAP insisted that Maryland’s law was preempted by the federal Copyright Act. And on February 16, federal judge Deborah Boardman agreed. “The State’s characterization of the Act as a regulation of unfair trade practices notwithstanding, the Act frustrates the objectives and purposes of the Copyright Act,” Boardman concluded in a 28-page opinion. In a subsequent June 13 opinion and order, Boardman issued a declaratory judgment deeming the Maryland law “unconstitutional and unenforceable.”

The decision, combined with an 11th-hour veto of a similar bill in New York in December 2021, has served the AAP’s aim, all but shutting down similar legislative efforts in at least six other states. But the library e-book market remains contentious, and as 2022 draws to a close, library advocates in several states tell PW they have not given up the fight and are working on revised legislative language that won’t run afoul of federal copyright law.

7. Lawsuit over Internet Archive’s Book Scanning and Lending Advances

After more than two years of legal wrangling, a federal judge in New York City is now ready to hear arguments for summary judgment in a contentious copyright case filed by four major publishers against the Internet Archive over its program that scans and lends digital scans of library books using a method known as controlled digital lending (CDL).

In a final round of briefs filed on October 7, attorneys for the publishers reiterated their contention that the IA’s program is blatant copyright infringement on a massive scale. “In the end, the Internet Archive asks this Court to adopt a radical proposition that would turn copyright law upside down by allowing IA to convert millions of physical books into e-book formats and distribute them worldwide without paying rights holders,” the publisher brief states.

Internet Archive lawyers counter that its scanning and lending of legally acquired books is legal, and that the evidence shows no market harm to the publishers. “All CDL does, and all it can ever do, is offer a limited, digital alternative to physically handing a book to a patron,” the IA brief states. “What the publishers who have coordinated to bring this lawsuit hope to obtain from this Court is not protection from harm to their existing rights. Instead, they seek a new right foreign to American copyright law: the right to control how libraries lend books.”

With the cross-motions for summary judgment now fully briefed, a hearing before Judge John G. Koeltl is likely the next step. But barring a settlement, the case will probably not be resolved anytime soon. If neither side prevails at the summary judgment stage, the case heads to a trial. And however the summary judgment ruling goes, an appeal is almost certain."

The CASE Act for Libraries and Archives; Library of Congress; May 2, 2022

Holland Gormley, Library of Congress ; The CASE Act for Libraries and Archives

"Calling all libraries and archives! You may have heard about the CASE Act and the establishment of the Copyright Claims Board, or CCB for short, a new forum for resolving copyright disputes involving damages of up to $30,000, staffed by experts in copyright law. But did you know that qualifying libraries and archives can preemptively opt out of participating in the CCB even before any claim is brought against them? Here is what you need to know.

The Basics 

The Copyright Office respects the important roles that libraries and archives play in our society. In fact, libraries and archives enjoy certain exemptions under copyright law, like lending hard copies of works to patrons or to other libraries. Libraries and archives also enjoy the unique opportunity to preemptively opt out of future CCB proceedings if they so choose. In other words, these organizations can decide that they will not participate in any claims brought against them in the CCB, so that copyright claims against them can only be brought in federal court. Libraries and archives are not required to preemptively opt out of proceedings. In fact, they may wish to not preemptively opt out, since the CCB is more cost-effective than federal court, and all claims are decided by three officers with copyright law expertise.

Who Is Covered 

Libraries or archives that qualify under 17 USC § 108 can elect to preemptively opt out. The preemptive opt out will apply not only to the institution but also to any employees acting within the scope of their employment. This means, if the institution has preemptively opted out, the CCB will not allow copyright claims against them or their employees to proceed.

How to Preemptively Opt Out

The process is simple. To preemptively opt out, libraries and archives must submit a form on ccb.gov and self-certify their qualifying status. Afterward, the institution will be added to a publicly available list on ccb.gov and will never be asked to participate in any future CCB proceedings. There is no fee associated with doing so, and the status does not need to be renewed. However, it should be noted that if a claimant serves a claim before the preemptive opt-out is posted online, the institution should then follow the directions provided in the served notice to opt out of that claim.

If the Library or Archives Does Not Preemptively Opt Out

Participation in a CCB proceeding is voluntary for everyone. Libraries and archives that do not preemptively opt out can still opt out of participating in a CCB proceeding on a claim-by-claim basis. Libraries and archives, like any other potential CCB participant, should consider the pros and cons of using the CCB as an alternative to federal court litigation. You can learn more about the claim-by-claim opt-out process at ccb.gov.

Ready for more? Visit ccb.gov for more information on the preemptive opt-out option."

Copyright Office Launches New Copyright Claims Board Website; U.S. Copyright Office, April 7, 2022

Issue No. 954 - April 7, 2022, U.S. Copyright Office; Copyright Office Launches New Copyright Claims Board Website

"Today, April 7, 2022, the U.S. Copyright Office launched ccb.gov, a website serving as a gateway to the first copyright small-claims tribunal in the United States, the Copyright Claims Board (CCB). The launch of ccb.gov is a major milestone toward the full opening of the CCB to creators and users of copyrighted materials later this spring. 

The website is the new online home of the CCB and is focused on helping everyone understand the mission and the processes of the CCB. Once the CCB starts hearing claims later this spring, ccb.gov will become the primary location for information about filing and responding to claims, opting out of a proceeding, accessing the CCB’s Handbook, and contacting the CCB with questions.

The new website features clear, helpful information about the CCB, including what potential claimants and respondents need to know about CCB proceedings. The website will also host the CCB’s Designated Service Agent Directory, the list of libraries and archives that have preemptively opted out of CCB proceedings, and updates on the status of CCB-related rulemakings.

The CCB’s Designated Service Agent Directory is a public directory in which corporations, partnerships, and unincorporated business entities can designate an individual to receive service of the initial notices of all proceedings and claims asserted against them before the CCB. The directory is now accepting submissions and will be regularly updated. Please note that this directory is different from the existing section 512 designated agent directory under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

The CCB’s Libraries and Archives page will feature a public list of the libraries and archives that have preemptively opted out of CCB proceedings. A form for libraries and archives to preemptively opt out is now available on ccb.gov, and the list of libraries and archives, when compiled, will be regularly updated. A library’s or archives’ opt-out election also covers those entities’ employees acting within the scope of their employment.

Please bookmark ccb.gov for future reference."

After COVID boom, ebook aggregators face licensing questions from Congress; The Verge, November 18, 2021

Makena Kelly, The Verge ; After COVID boom, ebook aggregators face licensing questions from Congress

"“Many libraries face financial and practical challenges in making e-books available to their patrons, which jeopardizes their ability to fulfill their mission,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is our understanding that these difficulties arise because e-books are typically offered under more expensive and limited licensing agreements, unlike print books that libraries can typically purchase, own, and lend on their own terms.”

In September, Wyden and Eshoo first questioned publishers over the terms they set for ebook licensing. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many public libraries to shut down in-person service, and people began using online services like Overdrive’s Libby app to borrow digital books in lieu of physical copies. “Ensuring that libraries can offer an array of resources, including e-books, is essential to promoting equity in education and access to information,” the lawmakers wrote to Penguin Random House earlier this year."

Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Amazon won’t let you.; The Washington Post, March 10, 2021

 Geoffrey A. Fowler, The Washington Post ; Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Amazon won’t let you.

 

"Many Americans now recognize that a few tech companies increasingly dominate our lives. But it’s sometimes hard to put your finger on exactly why that’s a problem. The case of the vanishing e-books shows how tech monopolies hurt us not just as consumers, but as citizens...

 

Librarians have been no match for the beast. When authors sign up with a publisher, it decides how to distribute their work... 

 

In testimony to Congress, the American Library Association called digital sales bans like Amazon’s “the worst obstacle for libraries” moving into the 21st century. Lawmakers in New York and Rhode Island have proposed bills that would require Amazon (and everybody else) to sell e-books to libraries with reasonable terms. This week, the Maryland House of Delegates unanimously approved its own library e-book bill, which now heads back to the state Senate... 

 

Libraries losing e-books matters because they serve us as citizens. It’s easy to take for granted, but libraries are among America’s great equalizers."

Library seeks community's help to document COVID-19 changes to daily life; University of North Georgia, May 21, 2020

Clark Leonard, University of North Georgia; Library seeks community's help to document COVID-19 changes to daily life

"Joy Bolt, dean of libraries at UNG, said part of the impetus for the project came when she and Allison Galloup, special collection and digital initiatives librarian, sought documents related to the 1918 flu pandemic.

"We were both somewhat surprised to find little in our collection on the subject," Bolt said. "This is one reason why we thought it was important for us to collect information about the experiences of our Northeast Georgia community for future scholars and researchers. It will be there when people want to look back on this time and see how things were for so many of us."

To submit your story, use the library's collection form and upload your file or email it to archives@ung.edu.

Galloup knows many people will wonder if their items are needed or worth sending. She has a simple message.

"Nothing is too mundane to share. We cannot do this without the community's help. While there may be similarities in all of our stories, each person's experience and perspective is unique," Galloup said. "We're asking you to share whatever you'd like, in whatever format you'd like. Those who would like to participate can submit videos, voice recordings, scans, photographs, or text documents.""

Do Online Storytimes Violate Copyright?; American Libraries, June 16, 2020

Tomas A. Lipinski, American Libraries; Do Online Storytimes Violate Copyright?

Lawyer-librarian fields legal questions

"Our online column Letters of the Law explores a wide range of legal issues that arise in libraries, with the help of a pair of leading authorities: Mary Minow, a librarian who became a lawyer, and Tomas A. Lipinski, a lawyer who became a librarian. Together they have authored four books on the subject, including The Library’s Legal Answer Book (ALA Editions, 2003, with a new edition forthcoming in 2021), and led forums at American Library Association (ALA) conferences in collaboration with the Public Library Association (PLA).

In this column, Lipinski explores two topics that have made headlines this year: privacy concerns around the 2020 US Census and copyright issues surrounding traditional and online programming...

What are the copyright concerns when it comes to singing or playing music, on a piano or guitar, during storytimes or other programming?"