Re: Column on licenses

[Kevin L Smith <kevin.l.smith@duke.edu>]

I think the principle problem that your suggestion would create, 
from a library point of view, is an unwieldy proliferation of 
licenses.  It is already the case that libraries are hard pressed 
to keep track of the various terms in licenses for electronic 
databases; licenses for monographs would increase this difficulty 
exponentially.

That sad truth is that copyright acts as a kind of default set of 
rules that librarians more or less know and that prevent most of 
us from putting current monographic literature online, absent the 
intervention of Google and its deep pockets.  I don't think 
publishers' licenses for monographs would really change that 
situation, since the variety of terms and the lack of expert 
staff to manage the resultant morass would prevent libraries from 
actually exploiting those licenses that might offer the 
opportunity.

If the goal is to make current monographic literature easier to 
provide in digital form, how about a compulsory licensing scheme? 
It would have the advantage of a known set of terms that would be 
manageable, and would allow libraries to chose those disciplines 
in which they want to invest resources toward online access.

Kevin L. Smith, J.D.
Scholarly Communications Officer
Perkins Library, Duke University
PO Box 90193
Durham, NC  27708
919-668-4451
kevin.l.smith@duke.edu


"Joseph J. Esposito" <espositoj@gmail.com>
Sent by: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
10/16/2006 09:15 PM
Subject:  Column on licenses

I recently published a column with my partner Mike Shatzkin in 
Publishers Weekly.  The topic is the need for publishers to craft 
end-user licenses with every product they ship, including 
hardcopy books, as a means to make litigation unnecessary.  Here 
is the link:

http://publishersweekly.com/article/CA6378889.html?display=community&industry=Soapbox&verticalid=792

If that link gets broken, go to http://publishersweekly.com and 
search for the "Soapbox" feature.

I would appreciate hearing online or off from members of the 
library community as to how to improve the position Mike and I 
are taking in this column.  We talk to publishers all the time; 
once in a while they actually listen to us.

Thank you.

Joe Esposito