Copyright Tools for Librarians

As mentioned in our assigned readings this week, copyright law is an pressing issue for today's (and tomorrow's) librarians. I was interested in finding out if there were professional resources available to help librarians muddle through the complex restrictions. The American Library Association provides tools for information professionals about many issues, including copyright. ALA's "Copyright Tools" webpage provides easy-to-interpret online tools to help determine whether a work is protected under copyright, and whether the results of digital preservation is covered by section 108. Resources include a "slider" to help you determine if a work is covered by copyright and an spinning wheel to help interpret section 108 (the part of copyright law that allows libraries and archives to reproduce works for preservation.) These tools were created by Michael Brewer and the Copyright Advisory Subcommittee of the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy. As LIS professionals, we will be active participants in many of the "digital debates" we are reading about and discussing in this class. Luckily, we have a professional organization ready to provide the resources we need to be knowledgeable and capable information professionals.    

"Copyright Tools." ALA. American Library Association, n.d. Web. 7 February 2014.