ARL has published the final version of Research Library Issues (RLI) no. 279, which is devoted to legal concerns and evolving professional practices around digitizing special collections and archival materials. A pre-publication version of this issue was released in June. The final version of issue 279 uses the streamlined layout that debuted yesterday with issue 278.
This issue of RLI provides an overview of the legal and contractual issues involved in digitizing special collections and archives. The issue also includes a model digitization contract for use with outside vendors, as well as model “deeds of gift” that can secure permission from rights holders to make donated material accessible on the web. Finally, the issue presents a critical essay by Kevin L. Smith, Director of Scholarly Communications at Duke University, on a new way of thinking about copyright and risk management in digitizing special collections.
The complete table of contents with links to the articles follows:
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Digitization of Special Collections and Archives: Legal and Contractual Issues
Peter B. Hirtle, Anne R. Kenney, and Judy Ruttenberg -
Copyright Risk Management: Principles and Strategies for Large-Scale Digitization Projects in Special Collections
Kevin L. Smith
Research Library Issues no. 279 (June 2012) is freely available from ARL Digital Publications.
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 https://www.arl.org/.
