ARL/ASERL Task Force to Investigate OCLC Policy Change
Josh Hadro -- Library Journal, 12/15/2008
- Not a legal analysis; focus on policy and practice implications
- Latest in wave of reactions to OCLC policy change
- Report to be completed January 16, public release soon after
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Taking a step likely to be welcomed by many in the cataloging community, the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) have formed an ad hoc task force to study the recently disseminated OCLC policy governing the use and transfer of WorldCat records.
The group has indicated that the study will not be a formal legal analysis, but will instead attempt to determine what changes in cataloging practice and policy will be required as a result of the update from OCLC. As ASERL executive director John Burger told LJ, "The concerns are mostly about the assertion of copyright over the records, the somewhat-sudden, unilateral nature of the change, and questions seeking greater clarity over what uses are permissible and what are not."
The formation of this task force is only the latest and perhaps most official response to the November announcement made by OCLC. As reported earlier, there has been significant and contentious discussion of the policy change, much of it centering on issues like the "reasonable use" clause in the policy and whether it is too restrictive in prohibiting projects that "substantially replicate the function, purpose, and/or size of WorldCat," the legal weight the licensing restrictions potentially carry, and if OCLC ability to impose them on third-party institutions who have not explicitly entered into any agreement with the company. For a comprehensive list of the commentary surrounding the policy release, see the collected entries on the Code4Lib wiki.
Quick analysis necessary
The task force will have to work quickly in order to complete the report before its stated goal of January 16, just five weeks after the formation of the ad hoc group. The urgency is required, however, given the effective date of mid-February 2009 OCLC has designated for the changes.
The report will first be presented to the boards of the two groups, but "is expected to be made public soon thereafter," according to ASERL. The public version of the report is sure to be highly anticipated by librarians and OCLC's administration alike, and a topic of significant discussion at the upcoming ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver, if released in time.
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