Copyright Literacy of Librarians

Allison Estell

Laura Saunders

Simmons SLIS Lunchtime Lecture

March 2015

True or False?

 You can link to a YouTube video in a course syllabus posted onlineon a course website that is not password-protected (i.e., open to the public).

TRUE

Links are not copies.

True or False?

You can post a scanned copy of an instructional workbook in acourse management system (CMS), as long as the CMS ispassword-protected and access is limited to current students in thecourse.

FALSE

This would likely fail a fair use assessment:P: educational

N: consumable

A: entirety

M: likely affected

True or False?

 If you ask for permission from the copyright holder to quote shortpassages from their work in your academic paper, and permission isdenied, you may not quote the work in your paper. 

FALSE

Fair Use is Fair Use.

True or False?

Under U.S. law, a work enters the public domain according to the laws of the country in which it was created.

FALSE

Where was the work PUBLISHED?  Under U.S. law, most works created since 1978 receive copyright protection for the lifetime of the creator plus 70 years.  

But it’s really complicated!

See “the Hirtle chart” for more info:

https://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm

Copyright

Why Is it Important for Librarians?

The Study: Some Background

Independent Study I: Copyright Policy

Invitation to International Study

Independent Study II: National Survey

Research Methods

Survey Developed and tested by colleagues in Bulgaria

Random selection of subjects 10 public and 10 academic libraries from each state

Invitation & 2 reminders emailed to directors

Findings: Demographics

220 people started the survey 149 completed

Higher response rates from academic libraries (47% academic; 13% public libraries)

Mostly female (70%)

Skewed older (95% 30+, 58% 50+)

Majority of respondents were management/administrators followed by public services librarians

Most had been working at their current institution 10+ years (60%)

Almost all had an LIS degree (93%)

Familiarity with Copyright Law

Not at all familiar (L001)

Slightly familiar (L002) Somewhat familiar (L003)

Moderately familiar (L004)

Extremely familiar (L005)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

National International

Familiarity: Copyright-Related Institutions

Not at all familiar (L001) Slightly familiar (L002) Somewhat familiar (L003) Moderately familiar (L004) Extremely familiar (L005)0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

National International

Familiarity with Local Policies and Resources

Is There a Copyright Policy @ Your Institution?

Is There a Person @ Your Institution in Charge of Dealing

with Copyright?

Yes No Not aware0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Yes No Not aware0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Are you familiar with:

the concept of “fair use”?

Copyright: Knowledge Areas

Not at all familiar (L001) Slightly familiar (L002) Somewhat familiar (L003) Moderately familiar (L004)

Extremely familiar (L005)0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Fair Use Public Domain Out of Print Works

Are you familiar with:

copyright in the

online learning environment?

Copyright in the digital world

Not at all familiar (L001)

Slightly familiar (L002) Somewhat familiar (L003)

Moderately familiar (L004)

Extremely familiar (L005)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Digital Institutional Repositories Digitization Copyright with Virtual/Elearning

What about licensing?

Not at all familiar (L001) Slightly familiar (L002) Somewhat familiar (L003)

Moderately familiar (L004)

Extremely familiar (L005)0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Licensing Policies in your Institution Licensing for Information Sources

Are you familiar with:

the term “copyleft”?

Open Access and Sharing

Not at all familiar (L001) Slightly familiar (L002) Somewhat familiar (L003) Moderately familiar (L004)

Extremely familiar (L005)0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Open Access Creative Commons Copyleft

Where Do Librarians Look for Help?

Books

/arti

cles

Web

sites

Colleag

ues

Pro.

Disc

. List

s

Nat. L

ibra

ry/P

rof.

Assoc

.

Exper

ts

Lawye

rs

Blogs

/ Wikis

IFLA

WIPO (W

orld

Inte

ll Pr

op O

rg)

EILN

(Elec. I

nfo fo

r Lib

s Net

wk)

ICA (I

nt'l C

ouncil

of A

rchiv

es)

ICM (I

nt'l C

ouncil

of M

useum

s)

Other

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Copyright Knowledge

Librarians are mostly familiar and comfortable with traditional concepts and commonly-encountered scenarios

Copyright Knowledge

Librarians are less familiar with emerging and international areas

Copyright Resources

Librarians turn to familiar and readily-accessible resources, whether in-print, online, or in-person

Conclusions

Better understanding of copyright is needed

More Education in LIS Programs

Expanded Professional Development Opportunities

Clearinghouses and/or support from professional associations

Further Research Examine Knowledge rather than Perceptions

Look at copyright in practice