US-based Cornell University Library has announced the release of a book titled Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for US Libraries, Archives, and Museums. The book is projected to help professionals at cultural heritage institutions address issues of using the Internet legally to improve public access to their vast collections.
Based on an 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. It has been tailored to conform to American law and practice.
The development of new digital technologies has led to fundamental changes in the ways cultural institutions fulfil their public missions of access, preservation, research and education. Many institutions are developing publicly accessible websites that allow users to visit online exhibitions, search collection databases, access images of collection items, and in some cases create their own digital content. Digitisation, 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 seeks 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 digitisation project. Case studies on digitising oral histories and student work are also included.
The book can be purchased at https://www.createspace.com/3405063, and freely download at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1495365 and http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14142.
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