Copyright & Fair Use

1972

Navajyoti, International Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research Volume 3, Issue 2, February 2019, ISSN: 2456–3781, 2019

Preservation of any kind enables us to provide our future generations with as much of the information or data of any kind (audio, video, text, etc.) contained in our holdings as possible - to pass-on the heritage. Archives, therefore, are very much important in this regard, though the responsibility of an archive is to provide access to its systematically arranged data to its users, who can be both current and future. Obsolescence—of playback machines, technical expertise, tools, and audio formats—combined with the degradation of carriers represent the twin evils that impede archivists’ race against time to preserve important holdings and force us to ask the question – “have you digitized your collection yet?”

2011

"In this public letter, provided in response to the U.S. Copyright Offices notice of inquiry regarding their "Study on the Desirability of and Means for Bringing Sound Recordings Fixed Before February 15, 1972, Under Federal Jurisdiction," I argue in favor of federal copyright protection of this class of sound recordings. Using examples from my digitization internship and case study on the Jesuit Tape Collection, a collection of reel-to-reel sound recordings from the 1950s and 1960s held by the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, I show the difficulties faced in digitization and digital preservation of this class of sound recordings that develop as a result of legal barriers. Federal protection of this class of recordings could lead to a reduced risk of losing significant cultural heritage as these materials degrade over time. For further details on the U.S. Copyright Office's study, visit their website: http://www.copyright.gov/docs/sound/

2004

Over the past few years, one can hardly pick up a newspaper or one of the weekly newsmagazines without finding one or more of the following:-a story of a copyright law suit;-news of a pending change in the copyright law (complete with dire predictions about what will happen if it is or is not passed); or-pious pronouncements by those who advocate either for more freedom from copyright controls or who indignantly proclaim that the economic sky is falling because of filesharing, wholesale "piracy," or even simple private copying. Indeed, American University's Peter Jaszi has noted that since the last major revision of the copyright law in 1976 the consensus that existed between the community of publishers and producers and the community of users, librarians, and consumers has given way to a sharply divided environment. He notes that on the one side we see copyright protectionists or absolutists, who have sought legislative and court action to apply the copyright monopoly to ever more information formats, for ever lengthening terms, and with expanded legal protections for technological controls on copying and access. On the other side, there are what he calls copyright "secessionists," who argue that copyright regimes are retrograde and oppressive controls that not only limit freedom of expression, but also stifle technological advancement and public learning. In this highly polarized environment, it is rare not to find citizens, information

The ability to digitize hard copies, the proliferation of born digital content, and access to online distribution holds the promise of improved access to archival materials. Despite these advances, libraries and archives are increasingly hindered in providing this access by the legal issues surrounding their collections. However, this unfortunate problem can be resolved with a mixture of good policy, careful action, clarification of uncertain legal implications, and a reliance on the protections afforded to libraries and archives by the law. This paper explores the legal issues faced by archivists and librarians in digitizing and distributing their materials. Through a discussion of current archiving practices, this paper walks readers though the relevant sections of the copyright act, as well as other implicated areas of the law. By showing potential sites of legal conflict, engaging difficulties with seeking permission to use library and archival content, and suggesting areas where archivists can push the boundaries of their rights more aggressively, this paper provides a glimpse of the legal landscape surrounding digital archiving, and offers suggestions on how to successfully navigate it. It is my sincere hope that this effort can empower librarians and archivists to make full use of their collections, to assert the full scope of their rights under the law, and to become advocates helping to shape the national discussion over the future of digital collections.

2019

Given the unique realities, modalities, and possibilities inherent in digital archives, Milena Dobreva assembled a team of writers to address the acute choices archivists face, such as what to preserve and how, for whom, by whom, and by what means, as well as upon what basis and toward what ends. This collection consists of nine chapters in two parts. The first part, "Drivers for Modern Digital Archives," sets the stage in broad terms and includes chapters on digital humanities, management, the political economy of digital cultural preservation, legal issues, scientific information, and access. The second part consists of case studies in research data archives, access restrictions, and oral history research. The contributors bring a truly global range of praxis and perspectives to their respective chapters, and each is an experienced practitioner. The occasional nation-specific details of a legal precedent or mode of implementation will not prevent alert readers from taking away substantive insights. Rather, the range of diversity enables readers to contextualize their own experiences, grasp the international or global impact of emerging issues, and participate in a dialogue despite peculiarities in practice.

Digital preservation and curation encompasses a fairly broad field of collection development and access issues for libraries. Libraries may be involved to some degree in one or all of these areas of interest. These include: digitization of traditional print materials and audio-visual, acquisition of materials “born digital” through harvesting of the web, acquisition of digital materials from publishers, and access to licensed digital content from vendors (Cathro, 2007). The issues of selection, copyright, storage, access and future technological advancements impact digital collections. As more digital content is generated, libraries once concerned with shelf space, cataloging and circulation, find themselves concerned more and more with licensing, data harvesting, scanning resolutions, file formats, metadata, digital repositories, server space, user access, data conversion and bitrot. Moreover, the concept of digital preservation is one that encompasses the “policies and activities necessary to ensure the enduring usability, authenticity, discoverability and access of content” over the long term (Kirchhoff, 2008). The skills needed to work in this environment involve more than strict librarianship or archival skills. Additionally, rants may be needed to facilitate the implementation of digitization projects and in some cases to continue them over time as technology advances. The ability to seek and negotiate appropriate funding for projects are skills that librarians and others interested in working in the field may need, in addition to establishing or working within the organizational context of the strategic plan. Keywords: digital preservation, digital curation, digitization, OAIS reference model, access rights management, digital archive, digital library, digital repository, metadata, long-term preservation

2019

I hope I'll be forgiven, at the outset, for stating something that is obvious to me now but for most of my 35 year career as a film and sound archivist was not obvious at all. That is that people in our profession spend a lot of time researching and describing what we do, and how we do it, but why we do it tends to get a much lighter brush, if indeed it's not ignored altogether. The assumptions, principles and values on which our work is based easily get taken for granted. Because we assume them to be self evident, we tend not to articulate them. And that, in turn, can potentially put us and our institutions in a very risky position.

Advances in Library and Information Science

This chapter seeks to explore how the dawn of the 21st century and how the proliferation of information communication technologies (ICTs) has necessitated a fundamental rethinking on the interface existing between the media, libraries, and archives. There has been a gradual but rapid paradigm shift, following the information revolution made possible by the digital revolution, which have brought unparalleled radical transformation to the operations, procedures, products, and services of the information profession. Given the timeliness of media work and intense competition to break the most recent information to the world at real time, media personnel ought to add flavor to their work through retrieval of stored but relevant information found in libraries and archives. This chapter seeks to place on record the relationship, which exists among the “holy trinity.” The chapter also intends to recommend solutions to enhance the relationship between the holy trinity.