For immediate release:
January 12, 2012

For more information, contact:
Brandon Butler
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
brandon@arl.org

Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries: Webcast Registration Now Open

January 26, 3:00–4:00 p.m. EST

Washington, DC—ARL is offering a free webcast on Thursday, January 26, 3:00–4:00 p.m. eastern time, to discuss the ARL Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries. The Code facilitators—Patricia Aufderheide of the Center for Social Media at American University, Brandon Butler of ARL, and Peter Jaszi of the American University Law School—will deliver a brief presentation on the contents of the Code, followed by a question-and-answer session. The webcast will offer academic and research librarians a chance to learn about the Code’s substance on the day of its formal release and to ask questions and share ideas with the team of facilitators at the earliest stages of the public rollout.

The culmination of two years of research into practices and norms in academic and research libraries, the Code is tailored to address the most pressing fair use challenges facing libraries today, and it provides common-sense solutions based on the doctrine of fair use and the values of working librarians. Although preparation of the code was facilitated by lawyers, and the final draft was vetted by an outside team of copyright experts, the over 120 academic and research librarians who participated in this project are the document’s true authors and the source of its authority.

Register online to participate in this free webcast. ARL encourages groups, as well as individuals, to attend the webcast. The webcast will be recorded and made freely available on ARL’s YouTube channel.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 126 research libraries in the US and Canada. 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/.