2022-04-22 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 10, Issue 2

Featured Story

Editor’s Note

I am very excited to welcome five brand new SPLAT members to the crew!

  • Jessica Fleener from the University of Idaho Library
  • Tania Harden from Idaho State University
  • Chris Thielen from the Community Library Network
  • Maggie Dumont from Boise Public Library
  • Mariah Farmer from the Meridian Library District

Can’t wait to read what they’re excited about in future issues of the Curiosity Report. Have a look at the full list of current SPLAT members on SPLAT’s new website!

A Newbies Take on Copyright – a conversation between Jessica Martinez and Kelly Omodt

Kelly Omodt has been the the Interim Access Services Librarian at the University of Idaho since October 2021. Before that, she served as U of I’s Public Services Assistant. She’s quickly become a copyright guru at the University of Idaho Library, so Jessica sent her some questions to pick her brain. May you find her answers as enlightening as Jessica did!

Jessica: How did you become interested in copyright?

Kelly: Courts, universities, publishers, authors, lawyers, and librarians all have different ideas on what it means to adhere to US Copyright Law – however, copyright compliance, in many cases, comes in a distinct shade of vague-gray. I first took interest in copyright during the midst of the 2021 Spring term when my predecessor left the UI Library, and course reserve processing transferred to me. While creating reading lists, emailing professors, and asking for items to be purchased for classes I realized that what I thought I knew about copyright wasn’t necessarily true. To better serve the UI community, I requested to attend an ACRL supported e-Learning Webcast mini series, entitled “Copyright & Course Reserves” during the Summer of 2021 to brush up on my understanding of copyright. Eight months later, I nerd out at the arrival of new copyright texts ordered from a consortium library and find myself rambling (to anyone who has an ear to lend) about my understanding of court cases (Cambridge University Press vs. Patton and Authors Guild vs. HathiTrust) and their importance. Congress enacted the first copyright law in 1790; as I have only begun to research this topic in the last year, there is much for me to catch up on.

Jessica: What is one thing that surprised you about copyright?

Kelly: A piece of advice from a mini webinar series Summer 2021:
“Don’t over restrict yourself – meaning if a license doesn’t expressly address something you’d like to do, this does not mean you can’t do it.” Carla Myers

Oftentimes, unless a lawyer specializes in copyright law, they will contact the university library for assistance with copyright issues, such as image and video usage in presentations. However, just because a librarian may be up-to-date with copyright procedures, they must keep in mind that their advice is recommended and may not come across as legal or fair in a court of law.

Jessica: What is something that you think every library employee should know about copyright?

Kelly: Three things:
1) Harvard Business Review (HBR) – I was advised by the predecessor of course reserve processing that HBR is extremely strict about their articles being posted. Even if we subscribe to the journal, we cannot post them for course reserves as it breaks copyright compliance of the HBR publisher. I think every library employee should know this in case a faculty or community patron asks about using this as a resource for a class or workshop. I can also appreciate the clear-cut policy of use they have in place. If more journals were straightforward with how their contents could be used, there would not be so many gray areas in copyright.

2) “United States law rarely considers attribution or credit relevant to the legality of use.” Sara R. Benson, pg.7, Copyright Conversations: Rights Literacy in a Digital World. Basically, this means that acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute the lawful obtainment of permission to use the work and charges can still be brought against you if you only cite a source.

3) Public Domain (PD) is that “out-of-copyright material that everyone is free to enjoy, share, and build upon without restriction.” About – The Public Domain Review

Now in the PD = works by people who died in 1951 (countries with 70 years after death notice), by those who died in 1971 (countries with 50 years after death notice), and works published in 1926 for the United States.
Examples are as follows:
A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh.
Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.

Jessica: What are 3 good resources for people who want to learn more about copyright?

Kelly:
1) Section 107 of US Copyright Law: Fair Use
For an academic setting, Fair Use comes up a lot and surprisingly, not many know or understand what it means. I was one such person. These factors can weigh heavily on whether or not something can be used and though they were briefly discussed in my graduate courses for an MLIS, they were never fully explained. It was not until I started my new position at the UI Library that I began to see their importance.
There are four factors of Fair Use to consider when a resource has been applied to research, course reserves, interlibrary loan, etc. They are as follows:

  • Purpose & Character/Scope of Use
  • Nature of the Work
  • Amount & Substantiality of Portion Used
  • Effect on the Market

2) Sara R. Benson’s Compact Copyright: Quick Answers to Common Questions, 2021. The scenarios alone are prime examples of copyright in an academic setting.

3) I may be biased, but the mini-series I attended featured Carla Myers of Miami University, Ohio and when I reached out to Myers regarding a copyright issue earlier this semester they were extremely helpful and prompt with their answer. I find myself looking for Carla Myers name in the bylines when reading essays on copyright. Their publications related to copyright best practices are available here: https://sc.lib.miamioh.edu/handle/2374.MIA/6189/recent-submissions?offset=20

– Jessica Martinez
 

Fail Forward

We’ve all been there. You pour your heart into a program, and no one shows up. You try something new, and you fall on your face. Sound familiar? Fail Forward is the place to share your failures, and give you the opportunity to share what you learned from them. Did you promote your program in a different way after no one showed up? Maybe you took a new approach to the new thing you were excited about? Awesome! Share your story via our online form so others can learn, and realize that failure is often part of the process.

Stuff of Nightmares

Sometimes your failures haunt your dreams at night. I have been 3D printing little animals for Summer Reading: Oceans of Possibilities. We have printed sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, great white sharks, and octopi. I went looking for dolphins and whales but I could not find any with moving parts that were easy to assemble and print. I found a dolphin that was an unusual dolphin that could be given away to teens. The dolphin looks like this. I showed this to a coworker who said that it will haunt her dreams at night. Be careful of what you print for summer reading.

Is there a library you follow on social media who is always doing new and exciting things? How about a blog you follow that inspires you? What about a new idea, book, or resource that you want to share? Library Crush Corner is a place for those working in Idaho libraries to share what inspires them, and who or what they’re crushing on… in a professional sense. Share your story via our online form so we can publish it in a future issue!

CD Punk Archive

Within the DC Public Library’s Washingtoniana collection lives the DC Punk Archive, which collects the music, zines, and other ephemera of DC’s punk scene. They deserve a shout-out not just for this great shirt, but for the way they’ve centered community engagement with the archive. Library staff have turned to the local music community for their expertise, donations, and help processing materials. These volunteers have made digital access to much of the collection possible.

Maybe coolest of all, the Punk Archive is hosting live concerts. Punk shows in the basement of MLK library! Rooftop sets throughout the summer! Librarians, musicians, and audiences are making space for the history and present of Punk to co-exist. Doing it together? That’s punk.

 

SPLAT explores the ever-evolving library world and supports library folks as they adapt to meet the needs of their communities. Library folk throughout the state of Idaho volunteer to serve on the Special Projects Library Action Team (SPLAT). Learn more about SPLAT at splat.lili.org

SPLAT is brought to you by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and was made possible, in part, by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (LS-246156-OLS-20). The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.