By the way, given the declining fortunes of most RIAA members, perhaps the association won't loom so large in the near future. One could say it's a case of an industry taking an elephant gun to its own feet and emptying the chamber. The ironic net result is a dying industry, a dead business model and a widespread disrespect for intellectual property among the upcoming generation. -- Tom Fine ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roger and Allison Kulp" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 7:10 PM Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Libraries, circulation copies and fair use >I think one of the questions Tom is asking,is can a library be held responsible,if a patron borrows >a CD or DVD,and burns a copy of it ? My armchair answer is yes, if the RIAA learns about it.If >universities can be held liable for "illegal" file sharing that goes on through computers on their >property,why not ?The RIAA is all powerful,they can go after whoever they damn well please,even >some little library,or school a town in the middle of nowhere.I can even forsee a case,where the >RIAA might sue the government,and win > > > Roger > > "Farrington, Jim" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Libraries can legally circulate almost > anything they want. The exception > would be personal archives for which a contract was drawn up that > specifically excludes items from even being shown, but I'm assuming you > are asking about commercial items bought for the collections. Whether > they choose to circulate items--books, recordings, videos, periodicals, > computer programs, artwork, video games, or any other physical thing--or > not is entirely at the discretion of that library, regardless of its > size or primary clientele. I guess I should also say that I am talking > about original items, not surrogates (the scenarios mentioned below > strike me as being extremely questionable, legally--section 108 of Title > 17 covers library exceptions to U.S. copyright laws, whereas section 107 > covers individuals). > > Jim Farrington > Head of Public Services > Sibley Music Library > Eastman School of Music > 27 Gibbs St. > Rochester, NY 14604 > 585-274-1304 585-274-1380 (f) > > -----Original Message----- > From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tom Fine > Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 8:45 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: [ARSCLIST] Libraries, circulation copies and fair use > > Hi All: > > I'm hoping we have some library-policy experts here that can point me to > some answers. > > Can a library -- not a big institution or university, just a local > community library -- circulate > single copies of out-of-print CD's and DVD's they have in their > collections? I did a quick Google > and couldn't find a definitive answer. I thought Stanford had a > simple-to-understand "yes and no" > guide to fair for libraries use but I couldn't find it this morning. If > I recall that web page, > which I read some time ago, it is fair use to take out of circulation > and circulate a single copy of > an item that is either non-replaceable or replaceable at great cost (ie > out of print). > > Further, what about circulating single copies of ALL CD and DVD media > given the proven fragile > nature of the media? My local library head tells me that she gets DVD > failure reports after 10 or > fewer circulations in some cases, and most older CD's in the library > system are badly scratched and > sometimes gouged. Books on CD are bigger problems because some > publishers do limited dupe runs onto > CDR media and that wears out quickly from typical in-car handling. > Audiobook publishers vary on > replacement policies, the library lady told me. Some do it for the cost > of postage if you send back > the damaged disc. Some charge as much as $20 per disc. The librarian > told me that local libraries > are in a big bind with all of this because printed books are just not > their bread and butter > anymore. DVD's are a huge circulation item, as are kids' computer > software and games. Music CD's are > a somewhat popular circulation item. But the big one is audiobooks, she > said. > > When I was a kid, if I went to the local library and wanted to borrow a > kiddie-sound thing that was > on a cassette, the library would run off a copy and circulate the copy > with me. When I brought the > tape back, they'd put it in a pile to be re-copied with something else > and re-circulated. The > librarian explained to me that the albums were expensive to replace and > kids had a habit of mangling > cassette tapes. I'm not sure how strict they were about only having one > copy in circulation but I > think that requirement may have been tightened up with a law made after > I was a kid. I grew up in a > town that had plenty of lawyers living in it, so I doubt this procedure > was patently illegal back > then. > > Has the ARSC published any articles previously that bring some clarity > to all of this fair-use > thing? I think it would be a very helpful resource, one version for > local libraries and small > circulating collections, one version for big institutions like > university libraries and one version > of individual collectors (ie do we pose any risk of arrest if we choose > to back up our personal > collections to hard drive? -- there seem to be many different opinions > on this, from the > ultra-paranoid to the "what me worry". > > -- Tom Fine > > > > --------------------------------- > Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. >