The DACS Slide Collection Licensing Scheme

Abstract

For many years slide libraries in higher education institutions in the UK grew steadily in size as they accommodated the needs of new and expanding art and design courses. Although some slide librarians acquired new slides by photographing works of art in museums and art galleries, and most bought slides of the traditional art history canon from commercial publishers and art galleries, the largest proportion of these ever growing slide collections was made up of slides produced by copy photography, using slide film to photograph images taken from books, journals and exhibition catalogues. Changes in UK copyright law in 1988 made this illegal and jeopardised the ability of lecturers to present the visual material they needed for their courses. Slide librarians were forced to consider ways of getting around the law. A licence scheme ultimately emerged as the answer, but one that has its detractors and critics.