Intellectual property (IP) and copyright, as well as access to special collections, are highlighted in the current issue of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Bimonthly Report, no. 260. In the lead article, President of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, Peter McPherson, identifies IP law as a major factor in how universities are able to conduct their mission. He cites examples of how recent law revisions, court decisions and discoveries have come together to impose barriers to faculty and researcher access to critical resources.
McPherson notes that the growing imbalance in IP and copyright law and court decisions hinders the constitutional purpose of copyright 'to promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts.' He calls for the academic community to find a way to agree upon and advance a common set of positions in Washington DC that would regain within the law a balance between the needs of the creators of IP and the needs of society, which benefits from the early and wide availability of knowledge. He proposes 'an adequately funded structure to advance this agenda in Washington and across the country.'
Jeffrey Makala, Assistant Special Collections Librarian, University of South Carolina, makes the case for 'A New, Open Access, Online Directory of Special Collections.' He notes 'a significant and surprising gap in our contemporary information environment…there is no current, freely available directory of major research collections or academic and research library subject strengths in North America.' Inspired by ARL's Celebrating Research book and Web site, he proposes that the research library community create a collaborative online tool to fill this need.
Alice Prochaska, University Librarian, Yale University, responds to Makala's proposal for an online directory of special collections with strong support. She provides the example of the British National Register of Archives as a potential model for a North American directory. She also notes that the ARL Special Collections Working Group will consider adding Makala's proposal to the recommendations included in their report, which is expected to be released in early 2009.
This issue of the Bimonthly Report is also freely available on the web at http://www.arl.org/resources/pubs/br/br260.shtml.
