Chapter 9
What Copyright Librarians Know
Abstract
In this chapter, the importance of copyright specialization is discussed, along with the role of copyright librarianship as an evolving specialization within the LIS field. The interest in copyright and the trend toward specialization is demonstrated by the growth of literature surrounding the topic, as well as the increased number of articles, books, jobs, and continuing education opportunities. The chapter closes with a listing and description of things every copyright librarian needs to know and comments by practitioners about the challenges and benefits of copyright specialization.
Keywords
Continuing education; Copyright; Fair use; Librarianship; LIS education; Professional development; SpecializationYou should keep learning as long as there is something you do not know.
Seneca
9.1. Discussion
Copyright affects nearly every area of the library. In an information-intensive environment, copyright intersects and is interwoven into our daily work lives and work functions. While providing access and disseminating information remain at the core of the profession’s values, in a contentious copyright environment where content owners and content users are increasingly at odds, the library often stands as an intermediary between the two. As “rights owners have mobilized in defense of their property…the audience has swelled too. Its consumption habits increasingly presume an ever greater degree of access” (Baldwin, 2014, p. 391).
Interest in copyright manifests itself in concerns about access, digitization, licensing, preservation, and more. This concern is not new to the profession. Libraries have always been filled with copyrighted material; however, in the old print and analog world, copyright was a more fixed concept. Law and legislation surrounding copyright changed more gradually. A generalist with a high degree of expertise in a broad range of services and a nodding acquaintance with copyright law could competently answer most questions that came to the library. Librarians learned about copyright on the job. Some may have received some level of instruction about copyright in library and information science (LIS) programs, but likely in a holistic sense, rather than at a concentrated course level. For many years, this degree of copyright exposure was sufficient. If that was once true, it is no longer the case. The days when every librarian might have considered himself or herself a copyright librarian is past.
The march of technological change along with the growth and complexity of the law and legislation surrounding copyright changed all that. New technologies, along with developments, procedures, policies, and practices in every area of copyright law, are generated constantly. The volume and speed of change is now continuous so that it is difficult, if not impossible, for a generalist to keep up, while juggling other library services and resources. Libraries face serious challenges in responding to the rate of change in technology and copyright law; however, the rapid rate of change also represents an opportunity for the profession to evolve, grow, and stay relevant. As librarian grapple with the problems of information access and use, they are also rethinking and redefining their roles within the library and the larger community. That is, in light of “social, technological, education and economic changes, information professionals’ traditional roles have changed and new ones have emerged” (Moniarou-Papaconstantinou, 2015, p. 38).
One of those emerging roles is that of a copyright specialist. The change is reflected in new job postings for copyright and scholarly communications librarians, a renewed call for new or expanded courses on copyright in LIS programs, the growing number of continuing education opportunities available through our professional associations and other organizations, and the literature of the profession. In many ways, copyright specialization is an evolution and extension of traditional roles—we continue to inform, educate, and enable ethical use of copyrighted materials, as we have always done. What is new is the need for advanced knowledge, skills, and abilities to deal with the complexities of law, legislation, policy, and practice and the rate of change.
To remain effective and competent in today’s information environment, information professionals must only understand the nature of information today but also remain cognizant that information, and the ways users access, use, and even create information will dynamically change in the future.
Recent and proposed changes in national and international law, 3D printers, ebooks, cloud computing, online learning, digital downloads, streaming services, user-created content, and digital libraries are just a few of the areas libraries are managing. It requires our full attention. Copyright literacy and specialization is an evolving art in a changing world.
The changing nature of information requires knowledge of copyright. Information professionals need to keep current on copyright issues so they can help their users with their copyright needs, use materials to the greatest extent possible, and protect themselves from liability. As copyright issues become more widespread and complex…there is a greater need for information professionals to answer users’ copyright questions. Users need to know what they can do with materials created by others, as well as what rights they hold in work they created themselves.
That we see an increased number of job advertisements and position descriptions for professionals who can fill the role of copyright librarian is an indication that parent institutions also understand this need. Serving as a trusted intermediary, facilitator, consultant, or guide in the copyright environment is a learned process, and one that comes with some baggage.
As with other emerging and evolving specialist roles, there is a refrain for reform that winds itself through the professional literature related to the LIS curriculum. At the present time, there is no clear path to acquiring the knowledge, abilities, skills, and competencies needed to successfully and effectively perform the job. It is generally felt that current preservice LIS education and training is inadequate and does not prepare graduates to meet required qualifications or employer expectations for copyright expertise. Although the need for LIS schools to reform their curricula is repeatedly stressed throughout the literature, providing more focused, concentrated, advanced, and required training in copyright issues has not yet been widely embraced.
Most copyright librarians inevitably gain expertise through experience on the job, or “working at the coal face” (Barton, 2006, p. 86) and as well as through self-directed learning. If LIS schools have failed to provide preservice copyright education and training to their students, they have succeeded in passing on the idea that continuous, lifelong, and further learning is the means by which most information professionals will succeed and advance their careers, as well as meet “the diverse, complex, and changing needs of the information community” (Hirsh, 2015, p. xxx).
Because copyright is a legal issue related to information access, copyright librarians have a responsibility to preserve and protect the rights of content creators, rights holders, and information users. They must also continue to educate the populations they support, advocate for fair use, and take political action at local levels for innovative ways to create, renew, and protect information.
Advocating for greater access to content; educating our administrators, colleagues, and patrons about copyright law and practice; and participating in the open access movement as well as other initiatives, alliances, and campaigns are all important roles that copyright librarians can play to affect positive change today and into the future (Gregory & Rudersdorf, 2015, p. 99). Ultimately, the success of those in copyright specialist postions depends on how well the individual learns to understand and engage in intellectual property issues, as they affect the library and our users.
9.2. Closing Comments
We end where we began. What is a copyright librarian? What do they do? How do I become one? For those considering or just entering the profession, here are a few things you should know. There are many more, that you will discover for yourself…Pass them along to the others coming behind you into this interesting, challenging, and rewarding profession.
The top 10 things every copyright librarian needs to know (in no particular order):
1. Fair use is your friend—use it, promote it, reclaim it, exercise it (when appropriate).
a. Learn to work through the four factors checklist with confidence and comfort.
b. The public domain, Creative Commons, and open access are also your friends.
2. Keep up with current awareness in copyright law, legislation, and practice.
a. Attend local, national, and regional conferences.
b. Join relevant discussion lists.
c. Take advantage of continuing education opportunities whenever they are available.
3. Be opportunistic—actively promote, teach, market, and advocate copyright literacy.
4. Get to the core of the question. Know how to identify the facts.
a. The first question you hear may not be the real issue; it may be buried beneath a lot of extraneous details.
b. If you are being asked for legal advice or interpretation, refer the question to an attorney.
5. Say “yes” or “consider this instead” more often than “no.”
a. See #1.
b. If you have to say “no,” understand why, communicate the reason clearly, and have options and alternatives to offer.
6. All copyright questions can be reduced to three answers: “yes,” “no,” and “it depends.” Take as much time as you need to get to those answers.
a. Know the basics of the law and where to look for examples and evidence.
7. Know your institution’s intellectual property and copyright policy and how the institution manages risk.
a. Get to know your legal counsel and let them get to know you.
8. Just because it’s on the Internet, doesn’t mean it’s free—recognize myths, misperceptions, and toxic folklore when you hear or see them and know how to respond.
9. Sometimes getting permission and/or paying a fee for use is the answer.
a. Document interactions and responses and keep records.
10. Be neutral—remember the library is the balance point between content creators, rights holders, and information consumers.
In closing, here are the words of practicing copyright specialists, taken from the interviews mentioned in Chapter 2. Let them explain the enjoyment of this challenging, exciting, and endlessly interesting job:
I like having specialist knowledge which can help people…It is satisfying to be able to deliver a service which enhances the student experience for example by obtaining permission to copyright a certain item for course materials, or by providing licensed digitized readings, or by acquiring an electronic file for a student who is unable to read a print book.
United Kingdom
The opportunity to work with smart, creative people from many different disciplines.
United States
Evaluating risk, designing policies, educating colleagues.
Canada
I feel that helping people access and use information is still the foundation of my work.
United States
And, finally, “I love my job. There is a ton of variety and unlimited supply of issues that have no conclusive answer. What could be better?” –United States.
What, indeed?
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