Article: The Corruption of Copyright and Returning It to Its Original Purposes

As 2022 comes to a close, I'm sifting through my "did I read?" list and was reminded of this 2021 paper by Michelle Wu.  Wu is the former Associate Dean for Library Services and Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where she has also served as the Interim Associate Dean for Administration & Finance and Head of Law Center Human Resources. She thinks deeply about copyright law, and is admired by many. 

This 42-page paper is not light reading, so brew yourself a pot of coffee and settle in!

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Wu, Michelle M., "The Corruption of Copyright and Returning It to Its Original Purposes" (2021). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 2410.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/2410 (DOI: 10.1080/0270319X.2021.1966238)

Abstract

Since its inception, Copyright has had two purposes: the private interest of the author in being paid for her work and the public interest served by the dissemination of these works. Within the last two decades, though, some industries have systematically undermined both of those interests, redirecting the benefits of copyright towards themselves instead of the intended beneficiaries. This paper looks at the book, music, and entertainment industries, examines how copyright has been used to suppress the uses it was intended to foster, and explores ongoing and proposed avenues for course correction.

 

Webinar: What You Need to Know about Small Claims and the Copyright Claims Board

I received this information (below) from the U.S. Copyright Office. This webinar is free and open to the public.

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What You Need to Know about Small Claims and the Copyright Claims Board

You may have heard about the Copyright Claims Board, or CCB for short. But what is the CCB? Who can use it? In this fifty-minute session, learn the basics about what anyone should know before filing or participating in a CCB proceeding. Attendees will learn about the types of claims the CCB can hear, legal resources to be aware of, and why respondents might want to consider participating in the United States’ first intellectual property small claims tribunal.

Date: January 12, 2:00 p.m. eastern time

Speakers:

Maya Burchette, Attorney-Advisor, Copyright Claims Board

Dan Booth, Attorney-Advisor, Copyright Claims Board

 

Register Here

 

*   *   *

About the CCB: The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020 established the Copyright Claims Board (CCB), a tribunal located in the Copyright Office and available as a voluntary alternative to federal court. The CCB is an efficient, streamlined way to resolve copyright disputes involving claims seeking damages of up to $30,000 and is designed to be less expensive than bringing a case in a federal court.

Blog Post: Digital Books wear out faster than Physical Books

Published on Nov. 15, this blog post by Brewster Kahle has been read by many and if you haven't read it, you should. Kahle begins by writing:

Ever try to read a physical book passed down in your family from 100 years ago?  Probably worked well. Ever try reading an ebook you paid for 10 years ago?   Probably a different experience. From the leasing business model of mega publishers to physical device evolution to format obsolescence, digital books are fragile and threatened.

He then goes on to talk about what the Internet Archive and others do to keep digital works available and accessible. Yes, it takes a concerted effort of people and machinery, and that requires money. 

Looking back at my own blog posts, I know that I've written about digital preservation for a LONG time. It is not my constant focus, but I'm glad it is the focus of other folks who have the knowledge and fortitude to help our digital assets last for years to come. If you are able, support their work...if by no other way than helping them make the need for the work visible.

Resources from "Starting from Where You Are: Becoming Anti-isms"

Today I'm giving a webinar for the Central NY Library Resources Council and this post contains the resource list for the participants. (They will also receive a copy from CLRC.)

Description: Steps towards becoming anti-racist include developing an awareness of your own culture, cultivating cultural humility, and recognizing that it is a never-ending process that is not a straight line. This interactive session will have participants thinking about their own cultural backgrounds and the cultures of the community members our libraries serve. Resources for continuing this journey towards being anti-racist and anti-isms will be provided.

Learning Objectives: After this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Engage in self-growth activities that help build an environment of acceptance and belonging.
• Be involved in discussions about diversity, equity, and inclusion and their impact on belonging.
• Take meaningful steps to eliminate the -isms around them.

Resources: These are listed as shown in the webinar:

• Plett, Heather. (2020) The Art of Holding Space (book), https://centreforholdingspace.com/the-art-of-holding-space/
• Plett, Heather. (2015) What it means to “hold space” for people, plus eight tips on how to do it well (article), https://heatherplett.com/2015/03/hold-space/
• Plett, Heather. (2015) How to hold space for yourself first (article), https://heatherplett.com/2015/03/how-to-hold-space-for-yourself-first/
• Trainers Library. (2020) Promoting cultural competence, https://www.trainerslibrary.org/promoting-cultural-competence/
• Bullet Journal. How to Journal to Deepen Your Relationships, https://youtu.be/S_wa8u4V8wI
• ModelThinkers. Nonviolent Communication, https://modelthinkers.com/mental-model/nonviolent-communication
• Hughes-Hassell, S., Rawson, C. H., & Hirsh, K. (2019). Project READY: Reimagining equity and access to diverse youth [online curriculum], https://ready.web.unc.edu/
• Trainers Library. (2020) Promoting cultural competence, https://www.trainerslibrary.org/promoting-cultural-competence/
• Winters, M-F. (2014) Cultural Competence. The Inclusion Solution,.
• Part 1: What Is It Really?  http://www.theinclusionsolution.me/cultural-competence-part-1-what-is-it-really/
• Part 2: Why Is It Important?  http://www.theinclusionsolution.me/cultural-competence-part-2-why-is-it-important/
• Part 3: How Do You Become More Culturally Competent? http://www.theinclusionsolution.me/cultural-competence-part-3-how-do-you-become-more-culturally-competent/
• Part 4: You Have To Do The Work. http://www.theinclusionsolution.me/cultural-competence-part-4-you-have-to-do-the-work/ 
• As/Is. (2015) What is privilege? (4 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD5f8GuNuGQ
• Dolores Huerta Foundation. (2020) Privilege Walk Activity, http://doloreshuerta.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/privilege-walk.pdf
• Kawanna Bright, PhD. Privilege Layer Cake: Professional Development Activity, http://www.kawannabright.info/privilege-layer-cake-professional-development-activity.html
• Hurst-Wahl, Jill. (2022) The Art of Gathering (blog post),  https://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-art-of-gathering.html
• Dianne Crampton. (2018) Interdependence Improves Work Culture Success, https://corevalues.com/interdependence/work-culture-needs-interdependence/
• Harvard Human Resources, Glossary of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) Terms, https://edib.harvard.edu/files/dib/files/dib_glossary.pdf
• Kostelecky, Townsend & Hurley (Dec. 2022) Hopeful Visions, Practical Actions: Cultural Humility in Library Work. https://www.alastore.ala.org/hvpa
• Syracuse University Libraries. Resources for Racial Justice, https://researchguides.library.syr.edu/racialjustice

 

Twitter. Flickr. End of eras.

My use of social media is change and it's time to admit it.

I joined Flickr in 2005 (May, I think) and have nearly 5000 photos in that service. Over the years, I have used Flickr to share photos with other people. It's also been one way that I've been able to find my own photos, because I've been good at organizing photos in Flickr. Flickr also helped me forge relationships with other library folks, because we looked at and used each other photos. And in 2007, I got a ride from an airport to a conference center because I knew another person on the flight through Flickr. (Very cool!)

But the last photos I uploaded to Flickr were in September 2020. And while I do search Flickr for photos to use that have a Creative Commons license, often what I'm looking for isn't there. It just isn't the place that supports me the way it used to. Ugh.

And then there is Twitter. We are all watching the "dumpster fire" that Twitter has become. Some wonder if it will survive the week, since valuable members of its support staff are now gone.  After its recent acquisition, by E.M., I looked at my Twitter usage and realized that it isn't the news source it used to be for me nor the place where I interact with lots of people in the library and information communities. It's not a back-channel for conferences, for example. It is no longer essential.  With folks deleting their accounts or just relying on other services instead, its era is over.

I have already decreased by usage of Twitter by deleting apps and not signing in automatically on my computer.  And I'm getting ready to downgrade to the free Flickr subscription, which will then delete many of my photos. Yes, that will ruin blog posts where I've embedded my photos. Honestly, older posts are snapshots in time. If I find myself updating any of them (which can happen), then I'll update any broken photos too.

BTW...oddly...I don't feel sad. Tools come. Tools go. We shouldn't think that any of them will last forever, right?

So where can you find me? I've been using LinkedIn more. While it doesn't replace Flickr or Twitter, it has become a good spot for sharing work-related thoughts and information. You can follow me on LinkedIn without us being connected. (I try to connect with only those folks I know.)  You can also follow me on Instagram, if you're  interested in what I'm generally thinking or doing.

BTW some folks are moving to Mastodon. I haven't explored it, but it's been noted as being siloed and clunky. Perhaps I'll join in the future, but being untethered is a nice feeling!

Below is a version of last thing I uploaded to Flickr in 2020.

Blog post: New eBook Protection Software Gaining Popularity Among Publishers and Libraries

If you're interested in digital lending in a controlled environment or other areas where you might need DRM, you'll be interested in this about Readium LCP.

Readium LCP was developed five years ago to protect digital files from unauthorized distribution. Unlike proprietary platforms, the technology is open to anyone who wants to look inside the codebase and make improvements. It is a promising alternative for libraries and users wanting to avoid the limitations of traditional DRM. 

For more information, read the entire post.

 

#NYLA2022 : "They don't need you" and other lessons from the Annual Conference

Last week was the New York Library Association (NYLA) Annual Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY. Saratoga is a gorgeous community and always a great place to hold the NYLA conference. This conference was our first "normal" conference since COVID turned everything upside down. There were no restrictions and registration was close to what it was in 2019. (The conference in 2020 was virtual and it was scaled back in 2021, due to COVID restrictions.) 

There were many enticing sessions - often at the same time. Rather than writing about each session, I want to capture a few highlights and share some resources.

Courtney Harge: The Beautiful Revolutionary Future

The keynote was given by Courtney Harge (she/her), who is the CEO of OF/BY/FOR ALL. OF/BY/FOR ALL helps to equip "civic and cultural organizations to become of, by, and for their communities." Her slides are available and I recommend looking at them. Included in her presentation was an overview of their Change Network system.

What stood out to me is how they coach organizations to reach out into their communities, recognizing that gathering information and building relationships is paramount. Harge noted that we often rush to present a solution without knowing what the community wants or truly needs. People want to be listened to, heard, understood, and partnered with. Rushing in with a fully formed idea means that we are saying that we know best, even if we know nothing about that group or community.

Harge did say, "They don't need you." Those folks and groups who aren't using the library are existing without the library. We might rush in and exclaim, "you need us" or "we have a solution", but do we really know what those folks need? Spending time - a lot of time - getting to know the community and its sub-communities is vitally important. 

How do you get to know your community? Attend their events (without talking about the library). Walk through the neighborhoods and visit different businesses (and don't talk about the library). Perhaps try different places in those neighborhoods for coffee or lunch. Ask your staff to introduce you around, if they are willing. However you do it, Harge noted that we cannot immediately pitch an idea, rather we need to listen and learn. We need to understand what our community wants, rather than focusing on the solutions we already have. We need to focus on building trust.

Her presentation was full of wise words (many captured on her slides) including, "Make sure your space isn’t actively harmful.” For me, this also requires a lot of deep listening. Your staff and patrons need to trust you in order to tell you why your organization is actively harmful (if it is) and that trust does not occur overnight. It takes time.

There is a saying, "work at the speed of trust." Trust allows things to happen faster. However, trust takes time to be established and it can be ruined in an instant.

Creating Remote Access to Library Collections

John Raymond, Matthew Kopel, and I did a session on "Creating Remote Access to Library Collections," where we talked about digital lending in a controlled environment. Good to see public and academic librarians in the audience, who are interested in using Copyright Law (Sections 107 and 109), digital technology, and DRM to provide digital access to some of their print collection. We provided lots of information and emphasized the details of CDL (controlled digital lending) including maintaining the owned-to-loan ratio.

NYS Minimum Standards for Public Libraries

I found the session on the New York Public and Association Libraries Minimum Standards to be eye-opening and helpful. While I've studied the minimum standards, it was useful to hear others talk about how they are applied and what happens if a library is not meeting one (or more) of them.

One eye-opening tidbit is that all public library trustees need to fulfill the annual NYS mandated sexual harassment prevention training requirement. If a trustee takes this training in their workplace, they can use that training to fulfill their requirement as a trustee. Not having to take the training twice is good news. The bad news is that some of the sexual harassment training that is being used to fulfill this requirement is structured to meet the requirement and not to be truly helpful (in my opinion).

Mary Lou Carolan, from the Newburgh Free Library, shared their strategic plan during this session. (Having a strategic plan is one of the 14 minimum standards.) I like looking at library strategic plans and this one contains interesting activities.

Carolan noted that the Newburgh Free Library serves a community that is 50+% Hispanic. By hiring someone from the Hispanic community, translating the website, etc. into Spanish, & better outreach, they have increased the number of people from the Hispanic community who are engaged with the library. 

Combating Racism in Libraries: Creating Spaces to Educate and Inform Our Communities

I believe these archived webinars were mentioned in the "Reinventing Ethnic Library Services."  On this page are:

• Community and Communication in the Dialogue on American Racism - Past, Present & Future
• Using Collection Development and Readers Advisory to Introduce Race Relations 
• Inclusive Programming - Every Race, Every Month 
• I Write about Race - a panel discussion
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Human Resources & Microaggressions in the Workplace
• Teaching Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and American Culture in ESOL Classrooms 

And on this page are:

• Let's Talk About Anti-Asian Hate
• Reintroducing R.A.C.E. with Teens (Racial Awareness and Community Education)
• Evaluating for Inclusive Programming
•  Impact of Racism on Community Health
• Microaggressions in Academic Libraries

Good Weather, People, and Food

The weather this year was warm and gorgeous, and everyone took advantage of it! So nice to not have to take a winter coat or worry about rain.

One of the benefits of being in Saratoga is all of the good food. I didn't have one bad meal! Since NYLA will be in Saratoga again next year, I look forward to visiting places like Walt Cafe and Darling Doughnuts again. 

Of course, NYLA brings people together from across NYS (and beyond) who are interested in the sessions and then who find a myriad of other library-related things to talk about. The sessions and the conference structure become the backdrop for powerful conversations with existing and new library buddies.  I'm thankful to have seen folks whom I only see at NYLA and to make new friends!

Future Conference Locations

Finally, here is where the NYLA Conference is scheduled for the next five years. Yup, alternating between Saratoga and Syracuse!

2023: Saratoga Springs, November 1-4
2024: Syracuse, November 6-9
2025: Saratoga Springs, November 5-8
2026: Saratoga Springs, November 4-7
2027: Syracuse, October 27-30

Collaborative Problem Solving! : 2022 Miami University Libraries Copyright Conference

When the Miami University Libraries Copyright Conference ended, I set an intention to get notes up quickly on the five sessions. Clearly life intervened. I'm sorry.  Finally, here are the notes to the last session, which occurred on Sept. 16.  A recording of the session and slides are available.

Description:

Bring your copyright questions to this session! Our group of panelists will demonstrate the various ways copyright librarians often work together to think through and address copyright issues.

Presenters:

• Kenneth D. Crews
• Ana Enriquez
• Cindy Kristof

My Summary:

The three topics were: Copyright Claims Board, ILL, and preservation. Yes, three very different topics and all quite interesting. One thing that stood out to me - across the board - was libraries to think beyond the norm. With the CCB, that showed up in libraries taking the step of opting out even if others felt they didn't need to. With ILL - to me - it was the recognition that CONTU was created in 1979 and the world has changed a lot since then.  In terms of preservation, it was the idea (and complication) of preservation being done across country boundaries.

Many interesting details and worth a listen!

Notes:

• Crews noted the importance of each word in the session title. Collaborative. Problem. Solving. 
• Crews started by saying that they would be providing new problems for us to solve.
• Ana Enriquez talked about the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) and her institution's (Penn State) efforts to get the word out about it. (See slides)
• Her presentation included an overview of the CCB and contained lots of good details,including thoughts about sovereign immunity and whether there could be a constitutional challenge to the Copyright Claims Board.
  
• Cindy Kristof talked about CONTU – ILL and Resource Sharing (See slides)
• She begin with quick comments about the Copyright Claims Board and opting out, and the complication of doing so at Kent State University Libraries.
• She provided interesting pre-history to CONTU as well as links to presentations, etc., on alternatives to CONTU.
• There have been no lawsuits associated with Section 108.
• Kenny and Cindy talked about the cost of copyright fees versus the cost of a journal subscription. The specific examples given were fascinating and not something I would have considered, given that I do not do ILL.
  
•  Crews talked about preservation activities within libraries.
  
• Preservation activities are collaborative because they are about acquisitions, borrowing, collection development, donor agreements and licenses, etc.
• An agreement may impact preservation, if it is restrictive.
• An agreement can be neutral, restrictive, or generous.
• He talked through the language in 108 and provided interesting questions. For example, what does damaged mean? What "judgment calls" must we make?
• Can we preserve works before they are destroyed?
• What happens is preservation means moving a work across country boundaries?
• These are questions that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is thinking about. Crews noted that new information from WIPO on this topic is coming.
• Will there be a treaty or will there be guidance?
• He encouraged folks to work through their professional organizations in order to know what is happening and to contribute to the WIPO discussion.
• Q&A
• Ana Enriquez reminded us of the breadth of fair use and also that the usage details matter.
• "Fair Use-y"
• "What if..."  "It depends"
• What are the institution's standards?
  

Article: Everything dies, including information

 This MIT Technology Review article reminds us what we know, but may have forgotten:

Everything dies: people, machines, civilizations. Perhaps we can find some solace in knowing that all the meaningful things we’ve learned along the way will survive. But even knowledge has a life span. Documents fade. Art goes missing. Entire libraries and collections can face quick and unexpected destruction. 

Digitization was seen as a way of extending the life of information, but we know that a digital collection can be lost in seconds. Just think about what has been lost in Ukraine that was in physical or digital form. 

This article doesn't provide a solution. Joe Janes from the University of Washington, notes that we do "try to extend the normal life span as far as possible through a variety of techniques", but that is no guarantee against eventual failure and loss. 

Perhaps keeping information alive for as a long as we can is all we can do and realize that "forever" is a dream.

Nov. 2022 - Feb. 2023: Jill's Presentation Schedule

In a few weeks, I'll be giving my first in-person presentation since 2019. WOW! Being back in front of a group will be wonderful! Over the next few months, I'm also given several online webinars and a copyright class. If you're at any of these events, please say 'hello"!

Nov. 3, 1:45-3:00 p.m.: Creating Remote Access to Library Collection at NYLA in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Over the last several years, libraries of all types have begun leveraging their collections to provide additional access to materials through the Controlled Digital Lending legal framework. In this session, the speakers will review the legal and technical fundamentals of CDL-type access, build an understanding of risk management, and discuss how to talk about CDL to relevant stakeholders. Examples of success and roadblocks will be shared.

Also on the panel will be Matthew Kopel and John Raymond. The session is sponsored by Section on Management of Information Resources and Technology (SMART).

Dec. 6, 10:00-11:30 a.m. ET: Starting from Where You Are - Becoming Anti-Isms. Webinar for CLRC. Registration is now open for members of the Central NY Library Resources Council (CLRC) and the Empire State Library Network (ESLN). [updated 10/25/2022]

Steps towards becoming anti-racist include developing an awareness of your own culture, cultivating cultural humility, and recognizing that it is a never-ending process that is not a straight line. This interactive session will have participants thinking about their own cultural backgrounds and the cultures of the community members our libraries serve. Resources for continuing this journey towards being anti-racist and anti-isms will be provided.

Feb. 7, 2023, 2:00-- 3:30 p.m. ET: Copyright and Fair Use in Academic Libraries. Webinar for LYRASIS. 

While U.S. copyright law changes slowly, what does change is how we think about the application of that law to situations in our libraries. This webinar will use common scenarios to discuss the application of fair use in academic libraries, including digital lending in a controlled environment (a.k.a. CDL), the use of digital resources, interacting with students and faculty on fair use in photocopying, and much more. Basic copyright information will be provided, so that everyone enters the scenarios with similar knowledge. There will be time for participant questions throughout.

This webinar will use interactive components to allow participants to apply what they are learning to their own situations.

April 17- May 28, 2023: U.S. Copyright Law in the Library: A Beginner's Guide! for ALA.  Registration is not yet available.

The library is a hub of content, all of it subject to copyright law. The legal reality of copyright is dynamic—changes in technology have created a landscape that is constantly adapting and can be difficult to predict. If you don't have any formal training in copyright law, it can be intimidating to know how to answer your patrons' copyright questions and to know what you can and cannot do with your library’s content and resources. It can be tough to understand the line between providing information and answering a legal question.

Partners in Planning: A Strategic Planning Approach for Friends Groups

This New York Library Association webinar was focused on "A Strategic Planning Approach for Friends Groups" as they partner with their public libraries. Joy Fuller, who has 10+ year in strategic planning, gave this webinar. She is the author of Strategic Planning for Public Libraries.   

My Summary:

Interesting that most people attending the webinar are familiar with strategic planning. Perhaps what was different for us is seeing explicitly how a library friends group can participate in the library's strategic planning. From Fuller's comments, a friends group can participate from the start - and that is the real lesson. As a library is engaging in strategic planning, it should include its friends right away and keep the friends engaged. This will allow the friends to provide input into and support for the process. In addition, it will ensure that the friends are aligned with the library through the strategic planning life cycle.

Notes:

Fuller began with two polls:

• How engaged is your Friends group with your library's strategic planning process?  - 62% of the webinar participants are not directly engaged in their library's strategic planning process.
• How familiar are we with strategic planning concepts and approaches? - 79% somewhat or very familiar

Why should friends be partners in planning?

• Enables friends organizations to fulfill their purpose and mission
• Supports the library's efforts to create a community-focused plan
• Facilitates ongoing alignment between the library and friends
• Helps build awareness and membership for friends

In this webinar, Fuller talked about framework and approach.

Four Key Phases

These are common phrases, even if approaches may differ.

1) Prepare for strategic planning

What will the library do?

• Define governance and approval process
• Select and organize the core planning team
• Evaluate the need for external support
• Develop a project plan and timeline
• Identify key internal and external stakeholders
• Prepare a communications plan

Friends might be involved how?

• Serve as a representative on planning team
• Receive updates from library on the process and timeline
• Be included as key stakeholders for continued involvement
• Support communications plan within the community
  

2) Conduct community assessment (most mission critical)

What will the library do? Library turns outward in the community to understand how the library can serve the community.

• Determine data needed for assessment
• Gather and analyze existing data
• Conduct conversations with key stakeholders and community members
• Survey the community 

How might friends be involved? Friends can have a huge impact.

• Sharing existing data with the library
• Advise on groups or individuals to include in community conversations
• Promote participation in library surveys and community conversations
• Include friends questions in library survey

Benefits for friends: 

• Directly support and provide input into the strategic plan
• Outreach opportunity for friends

Case study: Penfield Public Library conducted a community survey as part of their 2021 strategic planning process. The friends included a question in the survey about learning more about becoming a friend of the library.  50+% respondents were interested in working with the friends. One result was new volunteers for their annual book sale.

Tips: Being active in the first phase will help the friends become a part of the survey. Make your questions actionable. Don't use sentiment or awareness questions, because they are less actionable. Limit yourself to 1-2 questions. Have a plan for following up quickly.  Provide actionable options. Help new friends get to know and work with existing friends. Maintain engagement and continue to follow-up.

3) Develop strategic plan content

What will the library do? 

• Align community assessment with internal capabilities
• Craft mission, vision, and values statements
• Mission: The what - purpose & who the organization serves.
  
• Vision: The why - what the community could be if the library achieves its mission. Future focused.
  
• Values: The how - The norms and behaviors that are encouraged as the organization works towards its mission. They are observable and actionable.
  
• Identify strategic priorities and goals
• Strategic priorities: Broad, high-level area where the library can drive significant impact
• Goals: Description of what the library will accomplish through the strategic priorities
  
• Review the strategic plan with key stakeholders
• Finalize the strategic plan
  

How might friends be involved? 

• Review the plan before it is finalized (for feedback, not approval)
• Gather library priorities and goals to inform friends priorities
• Update broader friends group and community
• User library strategic plan to inform friends' strategic planning
  

Benefits

• Opportunity for the library and friends group to gain alignment
• Visibility into library strategic priorities and goals that will inform friends initiatives
  

4) Implement and measure progress - the longest part of the cycle. This is where you see the intertwined partnership with the friends.

 What will the library do? 

• Create SMART objectives
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound
  
• Develop an action plan - A list of all the things the library will do over the next one year to advance its strategic goals and objectives.
• Initiative
• Ownership
• Start date
• End date
  
• Measure the success of initiatives
• Manage and communicate change
• Integrate continuous improvement
  

How might friends be involved? 

• Provide ongoing support of library strategic initiatives in alignment with friends mission
• Cascade communications to the community
• Maintain regular cadence of touch-points with the library
  

Benefits:

• Supercharges friends core, day-to-day initiatives
• Helps friends with continued planning and prioritization
• Ensures consistent messaging with the community

Planning for Friends Groups - what she has present is relevant, however:

• Identify your friends stakeholders
• Preview outputs from the library's plan
• Gather feedback from stakeholders
• Align friends and library plans 

Resources mentioned during the brief Q&A:

• Libraries Need Friends: Starting a Friends Group or Revitalizing the One You Have by Sally Gardner Reed
• Sample Memorandum of Understanding Between Friends and Libraries
  

Campus Collaborations: Partners Behind Every Corner : 2022 Miami University Libraries Copyright Conference

It has definitely taken me longer to write up these sessions than I anticipated! This session occurred on Sept. 14.  A recording of the session is available.

Description:

There are many opportunities for partnership at our institutions to help address copyright questions and issues encountered on the job as well as educate others about the law. In this session we’ll explore real world examples of such partnerships and discuss tips and best practices for  building and sustaining them!

Presenters:

• Kenneth D. Crews
• Melanie Kowalski
• Raven Lanier
• Christine Weller

My Summary: 

• For me, this sessions connected well with "It Takes a Village" in that we should not be copyright folks operating individually. Rather we need to see ourselves as part of a network that can provide information, knowledge, and support.
• If you are on a campus, you should know who the general counsel is and create a relationship with that person. Create that relationship - even it isn't a tight relationship - before you need to call on that person for help (or that person needs to call on you). 
• Look around your institution for others whose work touches upon copyright and fair use. Get to know them and build a network with them. This may take time and effort because people may not immediate see the benefit.
  
  

Notes:

What do you mean by collaboration?

• Working with students and faculty
• Helping folks with their project, where they need help on copyright
• Working with people inside the institution on institution projects
• Helping people who come to the "copyright officer" for help, who might be external to the institution
• Collective action
• Sharing ideas
• Learning from each other
• Sometimes need to work to pool objectives together
• Collaborations need to a clear goals, which may mean redefining goals as the collaboration continues
• No one can be the master of everything 
• "Collaboration means working with others outside my team" (from chat)
• Collaboration with copyright-focused people at other institutions
• The librarian may collaborate with general counsel. Could also collaborate with collection donors.
  

What do we want to accomplish (outside of completing a specific project)?

• Broaden the reach of the service on campus (i.e., copyright, scholarly communications)
• Further the institution
• Promote the service 
•  Correcting copyright mis-education
• Teaching others about copyright, even if the lesson is only a few minutes in length

Copyright myths?

• The 10% rule will not die!
  
• Reminder - we don't need to go down every rabbit hole we're presented with.
• It's on the Internet and so "fair"
• "I said I didn't own it, so I can use it."
• If you own the physical object, you own the rights to the object.

Why libraries in taking the lead on this?

• Libraries understand how to plan in order to use an item within the bounds of the law. 

Do you find that the mental link between physical possession and intellectual rights is more prevalent with special collections and archives? As though the rare the item, the more concentrated the rights within the object?

• Users need to understand that when they pay for a scan of an item from an archive, they have not paid to use the item.
• When the requestor know the rights holder, that relationship with the rights holder may impact how the requestor thinks about fair use.  Can be a positive or negative.
•  The name of a collection conveys wrongly that the library has obtained rights for everything in the collection. The XYZ collection may contain items from XYZ, who has transferred rights to the library, as well as other items to with XYZ had no rights.
  
• Publishers want users to seek permission for everything.
• Orphan works

Collaborative partners or players when dealing with publishers, faculty research, etc.?

• Institutional repository and data services with the library
• Office of research compliance
• The bigger the problem, the higher in administration you want to go, e.g., dean, chancellor
• Promotion and tenure committees
• Office of Faculty Development and Teaching Excellence (from chat)
  
• Office of technology transfer
• Office of government relations
• Learning Technologies (from chat) 
• Office of Graduate Studies (from chat)
• Disability services for students /student accessibility services (from chat)
• Alumni office (from chat)
• IT compliance
  

How does the unpublished status of archival materials come into play with the physical versus intellectual property issue?

• Unpublished can feel personal and private.
• Circumstances can matter
• There is no blanket rule for unpublished materials. Fair use applies!
• For unpublished works, they receive fundamentally the same legal protection under today's law as a published work.
• There may be an agreement with the donor.
• There may be a privacy aspect.
•  Public domain rules may be different if a work is unpublished.
• Tracking down rights for unpublished works can be difficult.
• Unpublished works are more likely to become orphan works.

What are some things we can do inside our organizations to build a collaborate atmosphere?

• Conferences, events, programs
• Relationship building with faculty and others
  
• Articulate how you can help people & articulate it quickly
• Spontaneous relationships often lead to the best collaborations
• Align a project to a strategic vision or framework in your institution. Then the project will encounter less friction.
• Reduce the silos in your institution. 
• Encourage people to collaborate across units.
• Help people understand when to bring you into a project. 
• Remember that copyright is a series of choices. Help people see the choices then can make.
  

Does the specificity of the subject matter involved in something like a special library make it easier or more difficult to collaborate in general? Have you  found specific fields that tend to be more or less willing to collaborate between departments/institutions?

• Education departments are very open (from chat)

Hoe do you work in your institution to create a better (more appropriate) copyright guidelines for the institution? How do you work to get ride of a policy that is stuck in the past? 

• The reason to have a policy is to have a policy
• Talk to colleagues at other institutions and ask about their policies. "Hey, we're the only ones who still have this type of policy." 
• Does enforcing the policy create a conversation, rather than a "no"? 
• How do you implement the policy? Do you flag things that raise a question? 
• Policies are often created to address a specific issue. Ask colleagues what the issue was. What is the history?
  
• Who do you partner with? 
• The unit that will be most affected by the policy (e.g., ILL department). Talk to the people who are doing the work.
• Are you protecting the institution's legal liability or how much work staff does?
• Think critically about whether this is a library policy or that it will have ripple effects across the institution. Do you need to make small local changes or larger changes that impact the entire institution?

When do you work with general counsel? 

• Depends on the relationship you have with general counsel and the lines of communications. Start locally and find someone who can push the conversation higher to the office or person who can make the change.
• Just calling general counsel - as library staff - is likely not going to get you a meeting.
• General counsel is not there do adopt a policy. They are there to contribute towards the creation of the policy. In an academic library, the dean/director may be the person to adopt the policy.
• Work towards having an good relationship with the general counsel, if you're the copyright person. That can be helpful long-term. You will be able to support each other, as well as refer questions to each other.