[please crosspost] Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums by Peter B. Hirtle, Emily Hudson, and Andrew T. Kenyon was published today by Cornell University Library. A description of the 260 page book with instructions on how to download a free PDF copy follows. Printed copies are also available for $39.95 from CreateSpace and, in a few weeks, from Amazon. Please consider asking your employer to get a print copy if you can't afford one yourself.
While written with digital issues in mind, there is much in the book that would be useful to anyone who wants to understand better copyright issues in American cultural institutions. From http://communications.library.cornell.edu/com/news/PressReleases/manual.cfm: Cornell University Library Publishes New Digitization Manual ?Copyright and Cultural Institutions? Will Assist Cultural Heritage Institutions ITHACA, N.Y. (Oct. 29, 2009) ? How can cultural heritage institutions legally use the Internet to improve public access to the rich collections they hold? "Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums,? a new book by published today by Cornell University Library, can help professionals at these institutions answer that question. Based on a well-received Australian manual written by Emily Hudson and Andrew T. Kenyon of the University of Melbourne, the book has been developed by Cornell University Library?s senior policy advisor Peter B. Hirtle, along with Hudson and Kenyon, to conform to American law and practice. The development of new digital technologies has led to fundamental changes in the ways that cultural institutions fulfill their public missions of access, preservation, research, and education. Many institutions are developing publicly accessible Web sites that allow users to visit online exhibitions, search collection databases, access images of collection items, and in some cases create their own digital content. Digitization, however, also raises the possibility of copyright infringement. It is imperative that staff in libraries, archives, and museums understand fundamental copyright principles and how institutional procedures can be affected by the law. ?Copyright and Cultural Institutions? was written to assist understanding and compliance with copyright law. It addresses the basics of copyright law and the exclusive rights of the copyright owner, the major exemptions used by cultural heritage institutions, and stresses the importance of ?risk assessment? when conducting any digitization project. Case studies on digitizing oral histories and student work are also included. Hirtle is the former director of the Cornell Institute for Digital Collections, and the book evolved from his recognition of the need for such a guide when he led museum and library digitization projects. After reading Hudson and Kenyon?s Australian guidelines, he realized that an American edition would be invaluable to anyone contemplating a digital edition. Anne R. Kenney, the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian at Cornell University, noted: ?The Library has a long tradition of making available to other professionals the products of its research and expertise. I am delighted that this new volume can join the ranks with award-winning library publications on digitization and preservation.? As an experiment in open-access publishing, the Library has made the work available in two formats. Print copies of the work are available from CreateSpace, an Amazon subsidiary. In addition, the entire text is available as a free download through eCommons, Cornell University?s institutional repository, and from SSRN.com, which already distributes the Australian guidelines. Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums by Peter B. Hirtle, Emily Hudson, and Andrew T. Kenyon. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Library, 2009. ISBN: <http://cornell.worldcat.org/search?q=+ti%3A+au%3A+kw%3A0935995102&qt=advanced>978-0-935995-10-7. Price: $39.95. Available for purchase at <https://www.createspace.com/3405063>https://www.createspace.com/3405063, and for free download at: <<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1495365>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1495365> and <<http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14142>http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14142>. About Cornell University Library Cornell University is an Ivy League institution and New York's land-grant university. Among the top ten academic research libraries in the country, Cornell University Library reflects the university's distinctive mix of eminent scholarship and democratic ideals. The Library offers cutting-edge programs and facilities, a full spectrum of services, extensive collections that represent the depth and breadth of the university, and a deep network of digital resources. Its impact reaches beyond campus boundaries with initiatives that extend the land grant mission to a global focus. To learn more, visit <http://library.cornell.edu>library.cornell.edu. Best, Peter
