Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for
U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums by Peter B. Hirtle, Emily
Hudson, and Andrew T. Kenyon was published today by Cornell University
Library. A description of the 260 page book with instructions on how
to download a free PDF copy follows. Printed copies are also
available for $39.95 from CreateSpace and, in a few weeks, from
Amazon. Please consider asking your employer to get a print copy if
you can't afford one yourself.
While written with digital issues in mind, there is much in the book
that would be useful to anyone who wants to understand better
copyright issues in American cultural institutions.
From
http://communications.library.cornell.edu/com/news/PressReleases/manual.cfm:
Cornell University Library Publishes New Digitization Manual
'Copyright and Cultural Institutions' Will Assist Cultural Heritage
Institutions
ITHACA, N.Y. (Oct. 29, 2009) - How can cultural heritage institutions
legally use the Internet to improve public access to the rich
collections they hold?
"Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for
U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums," a new book by published today
by Cornell University Library, can help professionals at these
institutions answer that question.
Based on a well-received Australian manual written by Emily Hudson and
Andrew T. Kenyon of the University of Melbourne, the book has been
developed by Cornell University Library's senior policy advisor Peter
B. Hirtle, along with Hudson and Kenyon, to conform to American law
and practice.
The development of new digital technologies has led to fundamental
changes in the ways that cultural institutions fulfill their public
missions of access, preservation, research, and education. Many
institutions are developing publicly accessible Web sites that allow
users to visit online exhibitions, search collection databases, access
images of collection items, and in some cases create their own digital
content.
Digitization, however, also raises the possibility of copyright
infringement. It is imperative that staff in libraries, archives, and
museums understand fundamental copyright principles and how
institutional procedures can be affected by the law.
"Copyright and Cultural Institutions" was written to assist
understanding and compliance with copyright law. It addresses the
basics of copyright law and the exclusive rights of the copyright
owner, the major exemptions used by cultural heritage institutions,
and stresses the importance of "risk assessment" when conducting any
digitization project. Case studies on digitizing oral histories and
student work are also included.
Hirtle is the former director of the Cornell Institute for Digital
Collections, and the book evolved from his recognition of the need for
such a guide when he led museum and library digitization projects.
After reading Hudson and Kenyon's Australian guidelines, he realized
that an American edition would be invaluable to anyone contemplating a
digital edition.
Anne R. Kenney, the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian at Cornell
University, noted: "The Library has a long tradition of making
available to other professionals the products of its research and
expertise. I am delighted that this new volume can join the ranks with
award-winning library publications on digitization and preservation."
As an experiment in open-access publishing, the Library has made the
work available in two formats. Print copies of the work are available
from CreateSpace, an Amazon subsidiary. In addition, the entire text
is available as a free download through eCommons, Cornell University's
institutional repository, and from
SSRN.com, which already distributes
the Australian guidelines.
Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for
U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums by Peter B. Hirtle, Emily
Hudson, and Andrew T. Kenyon. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Library,
2009. ISBN:
<http://cornell.worldcat.org/search?q=+ti%3A+au%3A+kw%3A0935995102&qt=advanced>978-0-935995-10-7.
Price: $39.95. Available for purchase at
<https://www.createspace.com/3405063>https://www.createspace.com/3405063,
and for free download at:
<<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1495365>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1495365>
and <<http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14142>http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14142>.
--
June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
(For Books about Greece)
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : kalamosbooks(a)gmail.com
www.kalamosbooks.com