[WEB4LIB] Re: Ebooks in libraries

[Andrew K. Pace]

IMHO, there is too much emphasis on FAIR, and not enough on USE.  Use is what
we want, right?
* If reproduction for teaching and research is fair use, but the
metadata/software disallows reproduction, then there is less use.
* If the licensing of content makes ownership too onerous or too costly, then
there is less use.
* If the Digital Millenium Copyright Act says that circumventing digital
restrictions for legal purposes is illegal, then there is less use.
* If the publisher determines the description, the access rights, and the
permenant location of an ebook, then there will be less use for future
generations (yes, I'm talking about preservation)
There is a lot of talk in libraries about giving up our Fair Use standard to
electronic resource Licensing Agreements.  *This* is now a discussion about
obviating the need for license agreements because the access is all controlled
technologically.  My fear, more clearly expressed, is that Digital Rights
Management (as embedded in standards) is the publisher's/vendor's solution to
Fair Use, their revenge on the copy machine, their check on the viral
distributor that is the library and the scholar.  Call me Casandrew, but even
if others are not afraid, I would hope that they would still want to be part of
the process that is determining for future libraries how this will all work and
how much it will cost us.
-Andrew

"Drew, Bill" wrote:

> Andrew said:
>
> "When I asked her if her "navigation" strategy included a plan for strict
> adherance to the Fair Use portion of the copyright law,
> she replied (I am paraphrasing): "There is no such thing as adherance to
> Fair
> Use.  One can only apply the four provisions of
> Fair Use to whatever content one is facing."  Pretty scarey stuff
> considering
> that the vendors and standards-makers (read
> "vendors") are going to be incorporating description and DRM metadata into
> their
> content.  That means that "use" will be
> predetermined technologically.  READ THAT SENTENCE AGAIN...now shudder."
>
> I don't understand the fear expressed here.  What she stated about fair use
> is what any copyright expert will tell you about fair use.  I have been to
> three different presentations on copyright the past two years and heard the
> same thing at all three.  The four provisions must be applied on a case by
> case basis and that has actually always been the way to deal with fair use.
>
> Bill Drew

--
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Andrew K. Pace
Assistant Head, Systems ~ NCSU Libraries
North Carolina State University ~ Raleigh, NC
andrew_pace at ncsu.edu ~ 919-515-3087
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