Washington, DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is pleased to announce the release of Fair Use Challenges in Academic and Research Libraries , a report that summarizes research into the current application of fair use and other copyright exemptions to meet the missions of U.S. academic and research libraries.

The research was conducted in partnership with the Center for Social Media and the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property at American University. In dozens of interviews with veteran research and academic librarians, the researchers learned how copyright law comes into play as interviewees performed core library functions, including:

Facilitating student access to learning materials on e-reserves and course websites
Providing scholars access to research materials, whether by digitizing existing collections or by providing physical access to special collections and archives
Preserving research materials for future scholars and the public, and creating useable copies of frail materials for contemporary use
Exhibiting material from collections, whether online or in physical space
Making library materials accessible for the disabled

The interviews revealed that fair use is an essential component of copyright exemptions for libraries as they engage in these activities. Some librarians had arrived at a view of fair use that helped them balance library mission and copyright law with confidence, but many had not. While actual practices vary widely, many research and academic librarians faced these common problems:

Failure to take full advantage of fair use and other copyright limitations and exceptions
Perception of unnecessary conflict between their firm commitment to library mission and their conscientious respect for copyright law

In addition to greater institutional support and a clearer knowledge of other copyright limitations and exceptions, academic and research librarians would benefit significantly from developing a consensus around a code of best practice in fair use tailored to the needs of their field. Other communities of practice, such as documentary filmmakers and media literacy teachers , have done this, and their fields have benefited.

“Fair Use Challenges in Academic and Research Libraries” is part of a three-stage project funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with the ultimate goal of developing and promoting a code of best practices in fair use for research libraries .

Download the full report here: http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/arl_csm_fairusereport.pdf .

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 126 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/ .

The Center for Social Media, led by Professor Patricia Aufderheide, showcases and analyzes media for social justice, civil society, and democracy, and the public environment that nurtures them. The center is a project of the School of Communication, led by Dean Larry Kirkman, at American University in Washington, D.C. The Center for Social Media is on the Web at http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ .

The Washington College of Law Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) works to advance access to information for teachers, students, artists, programmers, bloggers, inventors, scientists, doctors, patients, and others who depend on it to make essential cultural and economic contributions to society. PIJIP seeks to assure that their voices are heard and interests are recognized. PIJIP accomplishes this through projects they undertake that deal with intellectual property issues across the world, by hosting events emphasizing its values, and through the advancement of information via news articles, blog entries and a Web site, http://www.wcl.american.edu/pijip/ .

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