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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
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
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