News and Advice on copyright issues for librarians and educators from School Library Journal.
Local Limits: Many schools have created their own copyright guidelines, but are they binding? By Carrie Russell - 12/01/2008
One of our history teachers purchased a book he’d like to share with his students. How much of the text is he allowed to copy? Also, if he copies a library book (as opposed to his own book), does that affect the amount of text he can reproduce? —Rich Luttenberger, educational media specialist Morris Knolls High School, Rockaway, NJ Congress included a few examples of fair use in Se...
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Vander Ark Sunk 10/01/2008
Steve Vander Ark won't be publishing The Harry Potter Lexicon after all. U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson has ruled in favor of author J. K. Rowling, who sued Vander Ark last November to stop publication of his book. The print version of The Harry Potter Lexicon would have been drawn verbatim from the material on Vander Ark's Web site, one of the most comprehensive encyclopedic listings of...
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A Common Cover-up By Carrie Russell - 10/01/2008
We’d like to display our DVDs—just the cases, not the contents. Can we make copies of the original covers (which have the bar codes) to circulate along with the actual discs? —Susan Clayton, assistant county librarian Lake County Library, Lakeport, CA Yes, it’s fine to make copies of the covers.
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An Unplanned Problem By Carrie Russell - 08/01/2008
After we took our 11th and 12th graders to see the movie Juno, one of our teachers posted a link to the film’s script. Since the screenplay is for sale online and at bookstores, is that OK? When I told him that downloading the entire script for free might be a problem, he replied, “It’s a gray area—it’s alright.
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Carrie on Copyright: Rules of the Game By Carrie Russell - 06/01/2008
Lots of school and public libraries are hosting gaming tournaments, featuring popular video games like Guitar Hero and Madden Football. Since these games are intended for home use, isn’t that similar to purchasing a movie and showing it to a large audience? —Curtis L. Clark, library media specialist Harrisonville (MO) Middle School Everyone seems to be asking that question! Video g...
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Carrie on Copyright: Bet Your Bottom Dollar By Carrie Russell - 04/01/2008
Is it OK for my language arts students to listen to an audiobook from the public library? —Jeanne LaMoore, media specialist Middle School West, Chaska, MN Absolutely! If you work in a nonprofit educational institution, audiobooks, CDs, art slides, and videos may be used in the “face-to-face classroom” without prior authorization from the copyright holder (Section 110 [1]).
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Judge Rules That Turnitin Does Not Violate Students' Copyrights Joan Oleck - 03/31/2008
Four Virginia and Arizona high school students hoping to score a legal hit against Turnitin have been rebuffed: a federal district court judge in Virginia recently threw out their lawsuit, ruling that the plagiarism detection company does not violate the copyright of students, even though it stores digital copies of their essays to check future submissions for academic dishonesty.
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PreS-K–A five-year-old (rabbit) awakes one morning to discover that there will be no school, no daddy flying home today, and no going outside–until the snow stops.
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The staff of Salinas Public Library (CA), aka The John Steinbeck Public Library, pose with Lewis Buzbee, author of Steinbeck's Ghost, a middle-grade novel that centers around the threat of the library's closing in 2004. After a difficult struggle, the library remains open and has just extended its hours to seven days a week.
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