The Changing Landscape of Academic Libraries and Copyright Policy: Interlibrary Loans, Electronic Reserves, and Distance Education
| Author | Samuel E. Trosow |
| Pages | 375-407 |
The
Changing
Landscape
of
Academic
Libraries
and
Copyright Policy:
Samuel
E.
Trosow*
A.
INTRODUCTION
This
essay examines
the
relationship between
the
development
of
copy-
right
law and
policy,
and the
changing nature
of
academic library
and in-
structional services
in the
digital environment.
The
subject
is
particularly
relevant
in
Canada, because
the
federal government
has
been undertaking
consultation
and
study geared toward amending
the
Copyright
Act,x
which
recently culminated
in the
tabling
of
Bill
C-6o.2
The
Bill
contains
a
num-
ber
of
proposed amendments
to the Act
that
are of
interest
to
librarians,
educators, administrators,
and
students.
Before
delving into
the
details
of
these proposals, some general background
on the
importance
of
copyright
issues
to the
academic
and
library communities will
be
discussed.
Traditionally, copyright issues were somewhat peripheral
to the
opera-
tion
and
functioning
of the
typical college
or
university. Students read
textbooks
and
went
to
classrooms where lectures were
the
usual mode
The
author
would like
to
acknowledge
the
research
assistance
of
Emma Hill
Kepron
(M.L.I.S.
Candidate, UWO), Kaitlin Norman
(LL.B.
candidate,
Univer-
sity
of
Windsor),
and
Karl
McNamara
(LL.B.
candidate, UWO)
as
well
as the
helpful
comments
and
suggestions
received from Paul Whitney
and by the
edi-
tor and
reviewers
of
this
volume.
R.S.C.
1985
c.
€-42,
Act].
An Act to
Amend
the
Copyright
Act, First Reading,
June
20,
2005
gc.ca/PDF/38/i/parlbus/chambus/house/bills/government/C-6o_i.PDF>.
375
i
2
THIRTEEN
Interlibrary Loans,Electronic Reserves,and
Distance Education
IN THE
PUBLIC
INTEREST:
THE
FUTURE
OF
CANADIAN
COPYRIGHT
LAW
of
instruction, supplemented
by
discussion groups,
lab
sessions,
or field-
work.
The
campus represented
a
sense
of
place, segmented into class-
rooms,
offices,
and
libraries, each with
their
own
particular function.
The
library performed various
set
services,
but
mainly provided
the
academic
community
with
a
collection
of
books which could
be
borrowed;
a
collec-
tion
of
magazines, newspapers,
and
periodicals which could
be
read
in the
library;
and an
array
of
reference materials
and
services
to
help
the
patron
find her
way. Some larger libraries also housed collections
of
government
documents, special collections
and
archives,
or
other matters
of
local
in-
terest.
In
this environment, copyright issues were
not
generally
of
great
concern
to
administrators,
faculty,
library
staff,
and
students.
The
introduction
of the
photocopy machine began
to
raise concern
and
awareness about copyright matters.
As
stated
by the
Association
of
Uni-
versities
and
Colleges
of
Canada
(AUCC),
engaging
in the act of
copying
is
central
to the
activities
of the
modern college
or
university:
Every
day
across Canada, university professors,
staff
and
students
make
thousands
of
photocopies.
Books,
journal articles, speeches,
sections
from
plays
—
they're
all
being copied.
The
copies help stu-
dents
learn,
assist
professors
in
their teaching
and
research,
and fa-
cilitate
the
smooth running
of the
university.3
Nevertheless,
compared
to the
challenges posed
by the
digital environ-
ment, photocopy issues remained relatively simple
and
contained.
In re-
cent years however, copyright issues have become wide-spread
in
many
aspects
of
campus library services.
The
breakdown
of
traditional
func-
tions through
the
convergence
of
libraries, classrooms,
and
living space,
concurrent with
the
introduction
of
computer networks,
has
made
the
circulation
and flow of
digital information resources pervasive
in the
net-
worked
university.
As
well,
the
boundaries between separate campuses
are
also blurring
as
more libraries enter joint arrangements
and
consor-
tia,
and
distance education allows students
to
obtain educational services
regardless
of
their physical location.
Much
public
attention
has
focused
on the
downloading
of
music
files
by
students
through university networks,
and
indeed much
of the
press
attention
given
to
copyright revision
has
centered
on
music
file-sharing.
However,
most
of the
emerging academic
and
library-related copyright
is-
"COPYING
RIGHT:
A
guide
for
Canada's
universities
to
copyright,
fair
dealing
and
collective
licensing"
(2002),
copying2OO2_e.pdf
>.
376
3
sues involve
the
delivery
of
educational content.
There
are
many examples
of
how new
applications
of
modern information
and
communications
technology
intersects with copyright issues
in the
campus environment.
The
infusion
of
multimedia resources into
the
classroom
through
direct
Internet
hookups
that
enable
in-class
web
browsing,
the use of
sophis-
ticated presentation software packages,
and the
presence
of
VCRs,
CD-
ROM,
and DVD
players
all
converge
to
make
the
modern classroom very
different
from
the
traditional low-tech world
of the
lecture, chalkboard,
and
flip-chart. In the
library,
the
physical card catalogue
has
been replaced
by
online catalogues, which
are
increasingly linked
to the
content itself
through
a
complicated
web of
electronic networks
and
licensing agree-
ments. Likewise,
the
introduction
of
electronic course reserves, together
with
the
availability
of a
variety
of
courseware packages
and the
instruc-
tors'
growing ability
to
create their
own
course-specific
websites, continue
to
magnify
the
complexity
of
campus copyright issues with respect
to the
delivery
of
course content.
Add
to
this
mix the
ability
of
students
to
seamlessly access
the
Internet
in a
variety
of
locations,
first
through Internet hookups
and
more recently
through wireless networks,
and it is
evident
that
the
educational expe-
rience
can be
enriched
by
technology-enabled
means
of
interaction
and
communications.
At the
same time,
the
instances
of
potential
copying,
communicating, distributing,
or
performing works
that
are
protected
by
copyright
are
greatly magnified.
A
full
discussion
of the
copyright implications
of all of
these changes
in
educational technology
is
beyond
the
scope
of
this
essay.
However,
it is
important
to
begin with recognition
of the
magnitude
of
these
changes
in
higher education. Policymakers
who are
grappling with amendments
to the
Copyright
Act
need
to
proceed with extreme caution lest
the
potentials
of
this
wide range
of
technology-enhanced learning opportunities
be
stifled.
It
is an
overly simplistic analysis
to
look
at
modern technological changes
with respect
to the
issue
of
music
file-sharing, and
reach
the
conclusion
that
expanding copyright restrictions
are
imperative across
the
board.
This
expansionary argument
starts
with
the
assumption
that
as
tech-
nology
makes
it
easier
for
users
of
information resources
to
share content,
there
is a
corresponding need
to
match such technological changes with
increased restrictions
on
user access through
new
forms
of
technological
controls, increasing
the
scope
and
reach
of
copyright, restricting excep-
tions
and
limitations
on
enforcement,
and
increasing penalties
as
well
as
modes
of
enforcement. Unfortunately,
this
line
of
reasoning
has
been
prevalent throughout much
of the
policy discussions leading
up to the ta-
377
The
Changing Landscape
of
Academic Libraries
and
Copyright
Policy
Chapter
Thirteen
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