Vesely 2007
Vesely 2007
Vesely 2007
To cite this article: Suzanne Araas Vesely PhD, MS, MLIS (2007) Do You Need a
Copyright Librarian?, Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 11:4, 69-82, DOI:
10.1300/J136v11n04_05
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Do You Need a Copyright Librarian?
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Suzanne Araas Vesely, PhD, MS, MLIS, is Senior Librarian I, Maharishi Univer-
sity of Management, (E-mail: [email protected]). Ms. Vesely was the Copyright/
Reference Librarian from 2000-2004 at Fort Hays State University, published several
articles on copyright law for academics and has made over 50 presentations on copy-
right. The Kansas Library Association awarded her the College and University Libraries
Sector 2003 Beginning Professional Award for her creation of the Fort Hays State Uni-
versity Copyright Web site, which is discussed in this paper.
The author wishes to acknowledge the support of Fort Hays State University and of
Maharishi University of Management for giving her time to complete the article.
Internet Reference Services Quarterly, Vol. 11(4) 2006
Available online at http://irsq.haworthpress.com
2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1300/J136v11n04_05 69
70 INTERNET REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY
INTRODUCTION
Four years ago, the term copyright librarian scarcely existed, but a
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Google search in June 2005 identified over four hundred hits using this
phrase. There are also a significant number of copyright specialists
who are librarians. Administrators are increasingly open to hiring a copy-
right librarian. In particular, schools, colleges, and universities are look-
ing for economical methods to ensure protection from infringement
complaints against online postings and other published materials. Copy-
right librarians are apparently becoming a new subspecialty within the
library profession, and courses in copyright law are beginning to appear
in library school offerings. A librarian copyright expert is a good choice
for an academic Internet service provider, such as Fort Hays State Uni-
versity, where half of the student population are in distance programs,
including a sizeable international program in Asia and the Middle East.
A copyright librarian, if well qualified and integrated intelligently into
the university culture, can be good preventive medicine, helping the uni-
versity to avoid legal pitfalls while maintaining a vigorous level of digi-
tally based pedagogy and scholarship.1
first sale rights, which allow libraries to freely lend materials, and the
fair use exception to the law, which allows users to incorporate even re-
cent work into their own efforts without getting permission, if it is in
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reasonable amounts.
This unique American approach to copyright law has been a key ele-
ment in the spread of democracy as other nations libraries adopt the
American core value of public access, which has developed with copy-
right law over the years. Gorman (2001, p. 8) makes this point in urging
balance between technological efficiency and the public good; contrast
his vision with Chepesiuks concern about the uncertainty of maintaining
quality in Hong Kongs democratically based libraries as they moved
into Chinese control (1992). The choice of a librarian as a copyright ex-
pert should reflect an institutions commitment to the democratic tradi-
tion of intellectual freedom even while it ensures that the librarys
services, especially its online services, comply with copyright law.
In many cases, the copyright librarian will not have an advanced de-
gree beyond the MLS or MLIS, but he or she will still be required to
have an understanding of copyright that would be expected of a legal
professional. A librarian who does not have a legal background will need
to have exceptional professional credentials beyond a library degree,
whatever they may be, and also be able to work with people effectively.
Carrie Russell is an example; she has a key role in defining copyright
librarianship. She is a pioneer of copyright librarianship who began in a
university setting. Now a staff member of the American Library Associ-
ation, she guides librarians across the country through the copyright
maze in her workbook, Complete Copyright: An Everyday Guide for Li-
brarians, 2004, and in C & RL News, she comments on her new service
as a copyright librarian to the American Library Association (2005).
Some copyright librarians in university settings may, like subject se-
lectors, have a combination of advanced degrees or other bases for rap-
port with faculty. The librarian with an advanced degree can be especially
helpful in locating the most acceptable alternative resources if a copy-
right owner requires too much in royalties. If the institutions adminis-
tration offers an early, top-down show of support that includes at the
very least the provost, vice presidents, deans, and department heads, the
copyright librarian may be able to set a tone of collegiality that would
encourage the faculty to consult her or him instead of forging ahead
alone.2 Such an individual can make it clear that informed copyright de-
cisions are a matter of self-interest. New services may be part of the
copyright librarians work: at Fort Hays State University, there was a
unique permissions service designed to encourage faculty compliance.
Some schools cannot afford a copyright librarian. There are many ex-
cellent Web sites intended to serve the copyright needs of such institu-
tions, and to help users of the service to be as self-sufficient as possible.
A sampling of such sites, not limited to universities, is available on the
Fort Hays State University Copyright Links to Online Resources
page. Linking to such sites will signal a willingness on the part of the
university to comply with copyright law. But in practice, most faculty
will not take the time to familiarize themselves with copyright law, how-
ever conveniently presented on the Web. What they will do is contact
the local expert, once they trust him or her. A sample of the kinds of
real-life questions that I have been asked and their answers, searchable
by topic, are at the Fort Hays State University Copyright and Intellec-
Suzanne Araas Vesely 77
she would like to end this study with a brief discussion of these and
other aids to understanding and complying with copyright law.
Copyright specialization, in the authors view, requires that the atti-
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file and one for the copyright office, which continues to track the num-
bers of people taking the quiz. Approximately 100 people took it in the
first four months, and from the time that the quiz came out, the number
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of people using the services of the copyright office doubled. These fig-
ures suggest that this simple tool served to educate people painlessly in
what they dont know, and then they are more willing to seek help.
Even if an institution cannot support a copyright librarian, any librar-
ian who is concerned about keeping a strong role for libraries in deci-
sion making on copyright-related issues should engage in copyright ac-
tivism. A copyright specialist concerned with advocacy should set aside
time to contact legislators, and also list them on the copyright Web site
so that others also have a convenient way to remind the legislators of
their responsibility to the public whenever they introduce bills that im-
pact freedom of information or library usage.
IN CONCLUSION:
WHAT IF THERE IS NO COPYRIGHT LIBRARIAN?
NOTES
1. Disclaimer: Fort Hays State University and Maharishi University of Management
are not responsible for the accuracy of the information and views expressed in this arti-
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cle. This article is intended to be informational only and is not intended to substitute for
legal advice. Please contact your attorney for any legal advice that you may need.
2. Credit goes to the Fort Hays State University administration as a whole for plan-
ning and using this way of introducing me to Fort Hays State University.
3. The revised edition of Hoffman features sidebars, passim, entitled One more rea-
son why librarians must become activists that are revealing reading for any institution
concerned about the indifference to the public good in the application of the law to digi-
tal and even print environments.
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doi:10.1300/J136v11n04_05