Re: [ARSCLIST] Copyright and the LOC - was "Incompetence..."

[Karl Miller <lyaa071@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 1 Nov 2006, Steven C. Barr(x) wrote:

> This indeed makes sense to me (sadly, in some ways)...and I have
> found that publicly-funded libraries in general tend to "err on
> the conservative side" in relation to any copyrights applicable
> to their holdings. In fact, I wonder if this practice comes
> from the difficulty they might have, should the question be
> forced, in justifying making their holdings freely (and FOR free)
> to the portion of the public they serve!

By law, libraries are allowed to purchase and loan out materials. Hence,
fear of having that right removed is not a concern.

In general, my 30 years of work in libraries has told me that librarians
are conservative, and reactive by nature. I believe one needs to keep in
mind that most librarians have rarely done any research other than that
needed to get their library degree. The effect of this in the world of
research libraries is a topic that has already been addressed in the pages
of the Chronicle of Higher Education and is being further explored...some
of you might remember a posting on this list asking for librarians with
doctorates in subjects other than librarianship to respond to a survey.

In general, I believe the reactive nature of librarians is due in part to
the nature of those who choose the profession. Libraries are generally a
secure working environment and as they are monopolies, are not subject to
any measurable quantification of effectiveness other than things vaguely
identified as "Patron Satisfaction" surveys. How does one evaluate your
University Library when you have nothing to compare it to?

While I don't see much hope for change, I must admit that what I have read
from the writing of Dr. Billington, the Librarian of Congress I am
extraordinarily impressed. His background includes a PhD, a Rhodes Scholar
who has taught history at Harvard. This sort of background is not what one
usually encounters in the world of libraries. He is both a researcher and
a scholar.

I believe that the push to access will have to come from the research
community, for, in my experience, librarians, especially those on the
front lines of public service, are subject to administrations which, in
general, do not have research experience or understand the needs of
researchers. I also believe that the internet has, in general, made the
spirit of the law, and the intent of the law, unenforceable.

This morning I got an email from a friend who sent me a website in Japan
where I could download, for free, copyrighted Stokowski recordings (All
American Youth Orchestra), in decent transfers.

I just hope things change before I die. There is too much I want to hear
and study and just don't have the resources to hang out at the Library of
Congress, or New York Public, or Stanford...

Karl