July 1996
FLICC Sponsors Symposium: Copyright in a Digital Age
Federal Libraries and the Copyright Clearance Center
FEDLINK Staff Profile: Network Program Specialist Meg Williams
End-of-Year Schedule for FY96 Accounts
End-of-Year Appointments Available to Members
GSA Supplies Contract for Library Management Support Services
FLICC Information Technology Working Group Initiates New Listserv
FEDLINK OCLC Users Council Delegates
Keynote speakers Pamela Samuelson of the Cornell University School of Law and Michael Remington of the law firm Leonard, Ralston, Stanton, and Remington addressed "Copyright for a Digital Age--Securing Rights and Promoting Progress."
Samuelson, a specialist in intellectual property, described the construction of a balance between the rights of users, authors, and publishers in print publishing and the ways that this balance will be tipped in electronic publishing.
"Theres no question that the digital environment is very scary for publishers and authors," said Samuelson. However, she pointed out, when courts protect the rights of copyright holders too stringently, users lose the right to "browse" electronic works; creators lose the right to use excerpts from other works to create value-added products; and the doctrine of "first sale"--which allows libraries and bookstores to function--is threatened. She suggested that a new "grammar of usage rights" is needed, which would uphold fair use, first sale, and browsing rights.
Remington has served both as staff to the National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council and Chief Counsel of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and Judicial Administration. He predicted a "collision course" between cyberspace and copyright law, and asserted the need to defend intellectual property rights in the era of electronic information.
"Copyright encapsulates the nations true national resource--creativity," he said. "Property rights, properly calibrated, will benefit the public." Remington also warned the audience that copyright and libraries are "attached at the hip," and that "separation may be fatal." The health of libraries--especially publicly maintained ones--should not only be salvaged, said Remington, but should be enhanced in order to equalize public access to information in the new economy.
Kenneth Crews, Associate Professor of the schools of Law and Library and Information Science at Indiana University, moderated the days panels.
In the morning session, "Fair Use and Other Issues for Creating Your Agencys Digital Library," representatives from writers and publishers associations and a federal information center presented their perspectives on the use of copyrighted materials. (For more information on the morning session, see the Summer issue of the FLICC Newsletter. If you do not receive this publication, and would like a copy, please call (202) 707-4800.)
The afternoon session, "Managing Copyrighted Works on Your Agency-Wide System," focused on ways in which libraries can ensure that their information delivery systems do not violate copyright protections.
"We shouldnt let copyright lawyers scare everyone to death," he said.
The system operator for an online server--whether its a Web site, a listserv, or a bulletin board--is subject to three basic types of liability: direct, vicarious, and contributory. "Direct" refers to liability for the sysops own actions or negligence; "vicarious" to the liability of the sysop for the actions of the organizations employees and agents; and "contributory" to the liability of the sysop for the actions s(he) takes that contribute in some way to wrongdoing by others. Managers of a library Home Page are most likely to be subject to accusations of contributory liability, as they will generally not be actively using or selling the information that they provide.
The bottom line, Post explained, is that Internet intermediaries are exposed to potential copyright liability if they know, or should have known, of infringing activity. Substantial participation is likely to be presumed. The requirement is that the system operator act reasonably in the face of notificaton of potentially infringing conduct.
"Anyone whos managing a network is going to get one of these letters complaining about infringing material," said Post. "The question is, what constitutes a reasonable course of action once the letter has been received?"
Post advises system operators not to panic. Instead, he advocates removal of the offending material until copyright permissions can be researched and he recommends a clear statement of your copyright policies within your Home Page. It is also a good idea to clearly alert patrons when they are linking to another site, so that you will not be liable for that sites indiscretions."Notices are extremely important to indicate to users what your usage principles are," he said.
The Cyberspace Law Institute (CLI), of which Post is a member, is a coalition of attorneys and interested professionals formed to study and help develop the law of global communications networks. CLI hopes to help system operators and copyright owners resolve their differences via online dispute resolution mechanisms. They are also offering an online course on cyberspace law for non-lawyers. More information about CLI and the "Virtual Magistrate" program is available at http://www.cli.org.
He explained that closed commercial systems, such as LEXIS/NEXIS and CD-ROMs have worked to reimburse copyright holders for the use of their material. However the shift to open systems, and the changes in both information administrators (librarians instead of vendors) and information users (who are now more technologically savvy) are threatening to copyright holders.
CONTEC has designed a platform, the C3 Digital Library System, which allows libraries to create locally controlled digital libraries--to convert paper holdings to digital form, store content for networked delivery, provide both print and digital copies to patrons, and manage intellectual property rights. These digital collections can then be cataloged using MARC to produce online catalog records, and searched either through lists and sets (as in lists of courses and different class units) or through Boolean and relevance searching.
Applications include a networked version of the traditional book reserve room; a function which allows for the creation and management of "local" or "special" collections; and another which allows for the creation and collection of a "current topics" collection. All of these collections can be made available on a network through a graphic interface and can be accessed and downloaded by any number of patrons or staff at once. The library may choose to charge for copies via debit cards, credit cards, or institutional charges.
In order to protect copyright and display the original formatting of documents, CONTEC recommends image scanning as the base conversion technology. Most importantly, C3 provides for automated query of rights from CCC and other rights clearance agencies, for direct rights and permission clearance from individual publishers and authors, and for tracking of institution internal electronic use rights. Individual queries may be sent by mail, fax, or e-mail; however, the company hopes to build a related reference database which holds preassigned rights terms so that individual rights queries will not be needed.
Jackson pointed out that monograph and serial costs have increased significantly, as have the number of monographs and serials being published. Both of these factors make ILL a crucial tool for librarians to help patrons locate materials. Despite this, however, ILL generally only accounts for 2% of libraries total circulation.
Jackson sketched a recent shift in the kinds of materials being requested through ILL. Approximately half of the ILL traffic consists of books or returnable materials such as microfiche. When photocopies of articles are requested, Jackson said, statistics from an NLM study show that 76% of the articles were only requested once. Fewer than 10% were requested more than 30 times. This suggests that ILL is generally used appropriately-to help researchers acquire and use difficult-to-find items for specific projects.
Jackson also noted that many older materials are requested-materials that are no longer in print. Because document delivery services generally specialize in current materials, ILL often does not threaten their business, or the publishers sales.
She spoke about pressure from patrons to provide faster turnaround time and multiple copies. After a library has borrowed an article more than five times, she suggested, they should send patrons to a commercial document delivery service. She also described methods of delivery, noting that document delivery services often rely on the same US mail delivery that research libraries use in ILL. For electronic delivery, she suggested that libraries should consider scanning texts as images and making them available via Ariel, to reduce the chance that the text will be directly downloaded and reformatted. However, she cautioned, storage of such scanned documents could be interpreted as copyright infringement, so they must be copied, sent, and destroyed each time. In closing, Jackson presented the ARL statement of principles on intellectual property:
The CCC is the official Reproduction Rights Organization (RRO) for the United States--one of 21 national RROs in the world. Established in 1978, after the 1976 revision of US copyright law, the CCC now provides licenses to more than 5000 organizations for reproduction of 1.75 million works copyrighted by over 9200 publishers worldwide.
The CCC offers a number of licensing options: a per-transaction fee; an academic program for creating course packs; and an annual authorization program, with a single fee which authorizes customers to photocopy excerpts from works copyrighted by CCC-affiliated publishers.
The fee that is charged for this annual authorization is determined through combining fees set by the rights holders with data derived from estimates of copying behavior by employee populations. It is this service that FLICC hopes to fine-tune with the help of the CCC by determining the reproduction practices and needs of the federal library and information center community.
If you have questions about the Copyright Clearance Center, please call (508) 750-8400, or visit the CCC Home Page at http://www.copyright.com. Watch for an upcoming Information Alert on the FEDLINK BOA.
This is one in a series of articles written for Wisconsin InterLibrary Services. These articles are being shared with other networks under a contract executed by the Network Alliance.
A good example of the hidden costs of upgrading software comes from the arrival of Windows 95 to desktop computers. Although the new operating system has received good reviews, Windows 95 does not perform optimally on hardware previously running Windows 3.1. Windows 95 is a 32-bit operating system and therefore works best on a 32-bit computer system, such as those with a 486 or Pentium Pro processor. Windows 95 also requires more RAM and hard disk space. Windows 95 carries with it more operating overhead than previous Windows OSs.
Big business has become increasingly aware of the concepts of lost money and lost time when investing in new technologies. Small enterprises like schools and libraries can learn from the experiences of major companies that seek out and eliminate the hidden costs of information technology.
In his article "Cut Costs with Client/Server Computing? Heres How!", (Datamation, October 1, 1995), David Simpson highlights the successes and failures of three companies efforts against excessive expenditures of new technologies. By implementing client/server computing, companies take advantage of sharing resources across an easily-maintained network. As shown in the study, companies have reduced the amount of time diagnosing and repairing small glitches. Consequently, they have increased the amount of time using the information shared across their corporate networks. Companies are also taking advantage of powerful client/server software packages purchased right off the shelf. In essence, there are more plug-and-play options for companies employing information technology.
When you have absorbed all the technical information you can, or have drained your allotted amount of worktime, the last option for making your new software or hardware work for you is to turn to technical support. After all, computers arent just household appliances.
Unfortunately, as many desktop computer users can attest, the days of free technical support are going, if not already gone. As competition increases and profit margins become slimmer, computer manufacturers no longer see technical support as a money maker. As a result, they are reducing support fortheir products and charging consumers for calls to their technical support line. Last but not least is the amount of time lost waiting to get a call through to a technician.
As major companies have discovered, use of information technology carries with it the risk of unknown amounts of time and money in implementation and maintenance. Hidden costs are important to consider because they dramatically compound the "known" costs of the initial hardware and software purchase.
Thankfully, there are methods of relief. Before you buy, see what free support is available on World Wide Web tech sites, e-mail forums, or Usenet newsgroups. Investigate which computer manufacturer has the best record for the least costly and most effective technical support lines. Depending upon the size of the system in which you are investing, simply budget along with the initial purchase a reasonable amount for worktime on computer maintenance and the training of others on the system.
Last but not least, hire a computer consultant, or appoint only a small number of individuals to handle the duties of computer guru. This keeps everyone, including library patrons, from diagnosing problems by themselves.
Roberta Furger. "PC Reliability and Service: Homeward Bound or Bound for Trouble." PC World. March 1996. pp. 192-202.
Jonathan Green-Armytage. "Hidden Costs of Guru Support." Computer Weekly. June 15, 1995. pp. 26 (1).
Williams gravitated towards librarianship for a number of reasons. She completed a BA in linguistics at the University of Virginia, where she worked in the music library for three years. After working several administrative jobs with the Army, including one at a base in Munich, she decided to earn her MSLS at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
She explained that her fathers attitude was one of the factors that swayed her career choice. "He worked in intelligence," said Williams, "and since I was a child the importance of having information-- good intelligence--before you leap was drilled into me. The feeling that information is critical has kept me interested in the field."
Williams was also initially attracted to librarianship by the idea of working with a variety of constantly changing research projects. However, after a short period of work as a reference librarian, her penchant for administrative work and management returned. At the UNC maps library, she helped to coordinate the move of over 100,000 maps and the simultaneous incorporation of maps from the universitys geology department and depository items into the central maps collection.
After working as a Cooperative Education intern at the Library of Congress, Williams completed her degree and returned to LC to begin at FEDLINK. At first, she taught OCLC classes and DOS and developed databases to track OCLC equipment. During the 1989-90 FEDLINK GAO audit, Williams helped to rewrite vendor contracts and worked to maintain and update the FEDLINK Fiscal Operations automated system. She assisted former FLICC Executive Director Mary Levering in writing FEDLINKs response to the audit. FEDLINK has recently passed GAOs follow-up compliance audit with flying colors (see story in the June FEDLINK Technical Notes for details).
Williams's range of experience with FEDLINKs fiscal and contracting activities has allowed her to work on several projects in recent years. She is a member of the FEDLINK Systems Team, which develops programs and networks to facilitate FEDLINK Fiscal and Network Operations. Over the last two years, Williams and Software Specialist Nate Trail have facilitated the coordination of FEDLINK Fiscal Operations records with the central LC accounting database. She still works to double-check contracts, and serves as the COTR for the ILL fee payment service and other services.
Because of her institutional knowledge, Williams has written the FEDLINK Member Handbook over the last several years. She also helps to develop the annual FLICC/FEDLINK budget.
In addition, Williams has been a long-term member of the FLICC Education Working Group. She develops programming for FLICCs Annual Forums; for the annual Information Technology Updates; and for the annual Mini-Forum. She is currently at work finding speakers and developing activities for a full-day program on library advocacy which is scheduled for December 10. Most recently, Williams coordinated the copyright symposium described in the front page story.
"I think its very important for librarians to keep abreast of copyright and other policy issues. I don't think Toffler is right--information is not a new wave phenomenon--it has always been the key to creating value. Everyone is just now catching on to that fact," said Williams.
"Information is what librarians do," she added. "Its a very high calling, and very hard. But thats what makes it fun."
To be sure that the topics of greatest concern are covered, we encourage both local and regional FEDLINK members to submit questions in advance of the workshop. LC contracting office personnel, FEDLINK network program specialists and FEDLINK fiscal staff will be on hand throughout the day to answer questions for individual agencies. FEDLINK extends a particular invitation to the procurement and finance personnel who support FEDLINK users to attend the program along with the agencys regular FEDLINK point of contact.
The day will run from 9:00am - 1:00pm, and will include presentations on the following topics:
End-of-Year Schedule for FY96 Accounts
For more information contact the FEDLINK Fiscal Hotline at (202) 707-4900 with questions regarding the FY96 end-of-year schedule.
FEDLINK will once again offer members the opportunity to discuss IAG and accounts payable
activity in preparation of FY96 end-of-year funds adjustments. FEDLINK will schedule 30
minute account review sessions for members on July 24, 25, and 26, 1996 from 9:00am -
12:00pm. During these 30 minute sessions, members may discuss IAG and accounting
transactions with FEDLINK Fiscal staff. Members may schedule appointments through the
FEDLINK Fiscal Hotline at (202) 707-4900. Members outside the Washington, DC metro area
may schedule appointments for telephone conference sessions.
GSA Supplies Contract for Library Management
Support Services
You may use this contract for any function in your library or information center which your agency has not designated "inherently governmental" under the definitions of OMB Circular A-76. For more information on this GSA service, contact Ron Mock at 202-708-7687 (fax 708-7111).
FLICC Information Technology Working Group
Initiates New Listserv
FEDLIBIT is a moderated list intended for libraries and information centers in the federal government; however, other subscribers are welcome to join. The list is maintained by the FLICC Information Technology Working Group and provides a forum for general discussion of information technology in federal libraries. Examples of topics which might be addressed on the list include: library automation; managing information technology in the federal library; software licensing; Internet and the World Wide Web; and networking CD-ROMs.
("FIRSTNAME" and "LASTNAME" are your real first and last names.)
You will receive a welcome message asking you to confirm your subscription.
Effective November 30, 1997, OCLC will end all support of the DOS version of the ILL ME, and block access to the PRISM ILL Service. OCLC is moving to enhance and update the PRISM ILL Service any new features or programs introduced into PRISM ILL will not be supported in the DOS version of the ILL ME.
The New York Times Information Services Group (ISG) and OCLC Online Computer Library Center made the announcement during the National Online Meeting in New York City.
Under the announced agreement, OCLC FirstSearch users will be able to access the full text of The New York Times on the day of publication. Users can also access the full text of the most recent 90 days of the publication, and abstracts of The New York Times articles published from Jan. 1, 1994 to the present.
"We look forward to offering our databases to OCLCs users in the academic community," said James E. Patterson, vice president of NYT Business Information Services, the unit of ISG that produces The Timess archival databases and the Times Index. "Since there already is a high degree of familiarity with our content in this market, making it available through an easy-to-use platform like FirstSearch seems like a natural way to broaden our distribution."
Rick Noble, vice president of OCLC Reference Services, said: "The New York Times is one of the worlds premier newspapers and reference resources. Its addition to FirstSearch represents a major enhancement to that service which will provide libraries with a rich source of current information."
Beginning this summer, The New York Times database will be available to FirstSearch users by subscription, or in per-search blocks of 500 or more. The database will also be available on EPIC, a full-featured online reference system, used mostly by librarians and experienced searchers, that provides subject access and keyword and Boolean searching to a variety of databases.
Please be aware that OCLC will not be reviewing or testing any user submitted macro. We will attach a disclaimer to all submitted macros and will post them to the Member Supplied section of the PSM. All OCLC supported macros will be developed, tested, and supported by OCLC.
No instructions are needed except to say that it is very important to read the instructions provided on screen and to use KERMIT as th protocol for downloading and uploading. FTP is not supported at this time. When downloading, check the INDEX first to get a description of all macros contained in the section of the PSM that you are in.
Robert Lee Hadden Term: through Fall '97 U.S. Geological Survey Library Mail Stop 950 Reston, VA 22092 phone 703-648-6088 fax 703-648-6373 rhadden@usgs.gov Benard Strong Term: through Fall '98 National Defense University Library Bldg. 62 Rm 326 Ft. McNair Washington, DC 20319-6000 phone 202-685-3960 fax 202-685-3733 strongb@ndu.edu Marcia D. Talley Term: through Fall '99 U.S. Naval Academy, Nimitz Library 589 McNair Rd. Annapolis, MD 21402 phone 410-293-6905 fax 410-293-3669 mdtalley@nadn.navy.mil Alternates, 1996-97 Robert O. Ellett, Jr. Armed Forces Staff College Library 7800 Hampton Blvd. Norfolk, VA 23511-6097 phone 804-444-1301 fax 804-444-2053 ellettr@afscmail.afsc.edu Maureen Canick Library of Congress 3041 Sedgwick St. NW Apt. 304 Washington, DC 20008 phone 202-707-5450 fax 202-707-6986 mcan@seq1.loc.gov Table of Contents
Send suggestions of areas for FLICC attention or for inclusion in FEDLINK Technical Notes to:
FEDLINK Technical Notes Federal Library and Information Center Committee Library of Congress 101 Independence Avenue SE Washington, DC 20540-4935 FLICC/FEDLINK: Phone (202) 707-4800 Fax (202) 707-4818 FEDLINK Fiscal Operations: Phone (202) 707-4900 Fax (202) 707-4999