Copyright law impacts libraries and their patrons every day, but the law's complexity makes it difficult to understand. Copyright: Best Practices for Academic Libraries breaks down this complexity by bringing together experts to explain issues in clear, concise terms, and to provide specific tips on how to use copyright law to further the mission of libraries, advancing the progress of knowledge.
Editors Ferullo and Buttler offer a valuable guide to copyright management in academic libraries. Written by experts in the field, each chapter addresses different aspects of copyright within library environments, including a discussion of the international copyright system, remote learning, digital access, and the TEACH Act. The book excels in discussing fair use and the four key factors for court assessments, illustrated with real-life case examples. Fair use under U.S copyright law and its potential inapplicability in other nations are also helpfully addressed. Another highlight is the chapter on international copyright, which identifies issues for works crossing borders and suggests potential approaches for librarians. Conflicts of laws are considered, as well as how other nations' laws may apply to a library's collection and access. Direction is provided for assessing copyright, rights access, and risks domestically, internationally, physically, digitally, and remotely. Discussions about the Berne Convention's principle of national treatment and the concept of a United States work are also instructive. An invaluable resource giving librarians the tools to assess copyright issues, risks, and approaches both domestically and internationally.
Even experienced librarians can find copyright a broad, labyrinthine subject, and developing a single resource that addresses matters of copyright that are most relevant to libraries without getting bogged down in legal complexities is an immense challenge. Ferullo and Buttler have brought together essays written by professionals with extensive experience at the intersection of libraries and copyright. In addition to addressing longstanding concerns around topics such as fair use and archives--the latter a subsection of libraries that is frequently overlooked in reference materials--this book also looks at contemporary subjects that are on the verge of being very relevant for academic libraries, e.g., text and data mining. Among the collection's highlights are the numerous citations of court cases and valuable takeaways helpful for self-evaluation. Immensely useful for any institution, this convenient manual will be invaluable to those with concerns specific to their holdings, as well as an excellent textbook for library/information science courses that delve into copyright law. Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals.
Ferullo and Buttler have compiled an extremely useful--and usable--guide for librarians and educators attempting to navigate the intricacies of copyright law in the course of their daily activities. Short chapters written by subject-matter experts in plain English provide library and teaching professionals with the essential information they need to make judgments about the use of copyrighted works without overwhelming them. The book imparts practical suggestions on how to contend with a remarkably wide range of thorny questions.
Ferullo and Buttler have successfully convened highly experienced leaders and skilled experts in the copyright field to craft a book that fills a growing need. The chapters combine legal deftness with practical applications, revealing the complexity of the law while guiding librarians, archivists, researchers, and teachers through copyright challenges. This book is an essential reference for all members of the scholarly community who face copyright issues in their work, and it does so with style, grace, and a touch of humor.
Here's the trusty guide to today's hot topics in copyright we have been waiting for, provided by some of the most well-informed and public-spirited legal experts. The authors in this book never forget librarians' mission, as they help us negotiate the legal thickets.
In all of my work as a library administrator and scholarly communication librarian for the past 20 years, this particular book is the first to actually detail which legal cases set the precedents and the interpretations regarding various aspects of copyright in relation to higher education and libraries in recent years... I highly recommend this book for libraries and librarians looking for an understandable and concise explanation of copyright law for various genres and formats.
