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 | Section 108 Study Group Releases Long-Awaited Report
The Section 108 Study Group has delivered its long-awaited report. The diverse 19-member panel was chartered in 2005 to inform legislative changes to update the Copyright Act's exception for libraries and archives for the digital age, but it remains unclear how quickly, or if, the group's carefully-worded, conditioned recommendations will ever make it into law. The recommendations were delivered to the Librarian of Congress, James Billington, and the Register of Copyrights, MaryBeth Peters, this week, and are intended to "provide a basis on which legislation could be drafted and recommended to Congress."
Notably, the report recommended the section 108 exception be extended to museums, which are currently ineligible. That, however, represents the only clear, unambiguous recommendation in the report. The others include broad language that could be interpreted many ways by legislators. For example, the report suggests section 108's "three copy rule," which permits libraries make up to three copies of a published work for replacement purposes, be amended to allow "a limited number of copies as reasonably necessary" to create and maintain "a single replacement copy." That point is further conditioned, however, on a library determining that a replacement copy is not available at a "fair price;" and an acknowledgement that "there may be circumstances under which a licensed copy of a work qualifies as a copy obtainable at a fair price."
Preservation was perhaps the major issue addressed in the report, but once again, the broad strokes leave significant latitude for legislators. The group agreed that libraries and museums should be able to make copies of "at risk" works, but suggested conditioning that upon limiting those copies to a "reasonably necessary" number of copies, as well as "restricting access" to the "preservation copies." That recommendation also enumerated a laundry list of qualifications to be met before even determining which institutions can avail themselves of this exception-and included a vague recommendation to "make allowances for institutions with limited resources that cannot create their own sophisticated preservation systems."
Another major issue concerned libraries' ability to capture "publicly disseminated online content, including web sites." The group recommended that libraries be allowed to archive and make this content available for sites that are not restricted by access controls, such as passwords, but also should offer an "opt-out" for rights holders-except for the Library of Congress, which is to be allowed to capture such content regardless of the owner's desire to opt out. In addition, libraries are to be prohibited from "engaging in any activities that are likely to materially harm the value or operations of the Internet site hosting the online content."
The recommendations issued in the report, "reflect agreement of all participants," the executive summary notes, although it concedes "agreement is often conditioned on satisfactory resolution of relating outstanding issues." The report, meanwhile, listed a number of issues the group considered but could not agree on-most prominently, digital Interlibrary Loan (ILL). The group acknowledged that "the single-copy restriction on copying" for ILL be "replaced with a more flexible standard" but offered no specific guidance.
Overall, the report reflects significant work and discussion on a range of issues relating to libraries and copyright-but also deep, ongoing tension between publishers and libraries in the digital age. Look for more analysis in Thursday's LJ Academic Newswire.
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Kenney To Lead the Cornell University Library
Two months ago, Cornell librarian Anne Kenney, an "avid" hiker, scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. This week, she officially hit the summit at the Cornell University Libraries (CUL). After serving as interim university librarian for a year, Kenney was named Cornell University's 11th Carl A. Kroch University Librarian.
An administrator with CUL for more than 20 years, Kenney officially takes the helm after an extensive search for a successor to Sarah Thomas, who left last year to become the first American to lead the libraries at Oxford University. Cornell provost Carolyn Martin said that over the course of the search "it became clear that Anne Kenney's innovative leadership, breadth of knowledge, and national and international reputation" made her the right choice. As university librarian Kenney will oversee one of the world's largest research libraries. The CUL has a total annual budget of over $50 million, employs more than 450 staff, and houses over 7.5 million volumes.
Kenney joined Cornell in 1987, served as associate director for the Department of Preservation and Conservation until 2001. Among her accomplishments, she is credited for her work in expanding CUL's digitization, network access, and scholarly publishing activities. She is also active in the archival and preservation communities as a fellow and past president of the Society of American Archivists (SAA). She currently serves on a number of national boards and committees, including the Social Science Research Council's Committee on Libraries and Archives of Cuba, and the advisory committee of the digital preservationist service Portico. She received her Master's degree in history from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1975 and her MLS from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1979.
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| Sharp-eyed Librarian Nabs Library Thief
In a case that eerily recalls map thief Edward Smiley, a librarian's "keen eye and determination" is being credited with nabbing a major library thief in the Pacific Northwest. According to local reports, James L. Brubaker, 73, of Great Falls, MT, was arrested last week after Robert Lopresti, a librarian at the Wilson Library at Western Washington University, noticed that some of the libraries' rare collections, some dating back over 100 years, were missing, and began scouring the web for traces. Lopresti told reporters that he and his colleagues used an eBay function alert to that notified the librarians whenever key terms appeared, to monitor to online auction site-and eventually hit paydirt.
Lopresti said he discovered two maps on eBay that matched those missing from his library, and with authorities arranged for friends on the East Coast to purchase the maps, which were then handed over to investigators. After a match was confirmed, authorities were able to identify Brubaker. In a search of his home, they found over 1000 books from more than 100 libraries across the country and "hundreds of maps and lithographs in envelopes ready for sale on the Internet." In a statement, FBI officials said Brubaker's eBay account listed over 550 items for sale, more than 300 of which were maps and lithographs. On March 27, federal agents arrested Brubaker, 73. He has been charged, thus far, with transporting stolen property across state lines.
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| Bush Library Address Will Be at SMU, but Online Address Still Uncertain
Is the Bush Administration guilty of poor planning when it comes to the forthcoming George W. Bush Library? After the long-delayed decision to partner with Dallas's Southern Methodist University (SMU) was finally announced this fall, it now appears that the Bush Library Planners forgot to nail down a permanent, proper online address. According to the Dallas Morning News, the best web addresses are gone, purchased by "squatters with no connection to the library, hoping to make fun of the president, protect him or simply cash in on his name."
The newspaper reports that at one time, the Bush Library Foundation actually owned the address www.GeorgeWBushLibrary.com but "whether on purpose or because of an oversight-Foundation spokesman Taylor Griffin wasn't sure-it lost that domain name last year. Illuminati Karate, a web company in Raleigh, NC, which "picked it up for less than $10," did not elaborate on its plans for the address. Griffin said GeorgeWBushLibrary.gov might work, because government sites aren't open to the public.
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Library Journal Academic Newswire
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