The Reuse Evangelist

Abstract

A few months ago, my colleague Daniel Hickey participated in an in-house panel titled Dirt on Downloads: What You Should Know about Using Copyrighted Media. Since learned so much from Daniel's presentation on helping students integrate preexisting media into their assignments, invited him to develop his presentation into a broader article on copyright issues for public services librarians. This column reflects Daniel's passion for advocating for library users as well as his interest in digital media. His informative and provocative article will no doubt encourage lively discussion on this critically important issue.--Editor A short time ago, after teaching a one-shot instruction session about locating free media for video projects to a class of undergraduates at Penn State, received a perplexing follow-up question. The query itself was straightforward: some students had confused different types of intellectual property (patents and copyright) and were uncertain as to how to proceed with their assignment. The specifics of their question were easily explained and fears that the video's concept would have to be scratched allayed. What struck me, however, was the tone of their email. These teenagers knew enough about copyright, and intellectual property in general, to worry that displaying a patented design in their video might incur the legal wrath of a major corporation. The irony of the situation was that these students were participating in the Sparky Awards, an annual contest to promote the open exchange of organized by SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, and hosted at a variety of North American universities. (1) A quick glance at sparkyawards.org clues any librarian in to the fact that the awards are a vehicle for educating and engaging students in discussions about copyright, and more specifically Open Access. Advocacy for Open Access is an important initiative among librarians. Working to advance this ideal in the publishing industry, however, often happens at a much higher level than that of the average practitioner in a private, public, or academic library. This can be dispiriting. How can we, as on-the-ground information professionals with a decided stake in the proceedings, contribute? The answer can be found in the question: on the ground. Librarians have a unique insight into how copyright law and publishing terms of service directly impact our patrons. This rapport with our users can reveal what is at stake for the individual and why the librarian's role as a copyright educator and reuse evangelist is critical to the mission of libraries. LIBRARIAN AS COPYRIGHT CONSULTANT? Before discussing how librarians can take action, the question of whether or not we should must be broached. Copyright occupies a vexed place when it comes to reference work. There are two camps: some view answering copyright questions as an integrated part of everyday operations, while others classify them as untouchable legal questions. Recently, while reading Dorothea Salo's blog, Book of Trogool, came across a post that provided a fictional librarian's response to a copyright question: I am not a lawyer; if you have a copyright question, go ask a lawyer. (2) What this response doesn't communicate is the deeper reason why the librarian is unwilling to answer a copyright question. That reason is, of course, that the individual or institution might be held liable in court or accused of practicing law without a license. These fears are certainly valid, but they should not be allowed to shut down reference interactions in which a librarian is qualified to provide information resources, advice, and opinions related to the reuse of intellectual property (with the proper caveats). In December 2010 an ARL report titled Fair Use Challenges in Academic and Research Libraries found that there is a perception among academic librarians that decisions are sometimes made on the basis of avoiding copyright difficulties rather than fulfilling the library's mission. …