Fees: Advance / Regular SAA Members: $289 / $349
Employees of SAA Member Institutions: $329 / $389
Nonmembers: $379 / $429
Course Description When is it safe to take a risk? When it comes to copyright, that’s a hard question to answer. There’s no doubt that copyright rules can sometimes be onerous for archivists. What do you do when even a moderate adherence to the provisions of copyright law seems to inhibit such basic archival work as preservation, reference service, and digitization for external access? Is it worth taking the risk that your decision might land your repository in court? Will your institution back you up if that happens?
William Maher, one of the profession's acknowledged experts, presents a workshop that combines a detailed look at copyright basics with a risk-management approach for archivists to use in assessing their own collections and institutional circumstances. He’ll show you where there can be room to maneuver by explaining the law’s sometimes complex facets and he’ll help you learn how to determine whether there are existing exceptions and limitations you can use. The ultimate goal is to enable archivists to fulfill their fundamental purposeachieving the widest possible use of their collections.
Upon completion of this workshop you’ll be able to:
- Differentiate among key concepts (e.g., author, work, exclusive rights, fair use, library and archival exemptions, copyright term, ownership, and loopholes and liabilities);
- Distinguish copyright from related laws;
- Apply the tools learned to pursue your review of copyright law;
- Communicate more effectively with donors, users, and institutional legal counsel about copyright; and
- Determine your own risk level for planning digital projects.
Who should attend? Administrators, legal professionals, managers, practitioners, librarians, and museum professionals.
What should you know? Solid command of the English language, especially the ability to read and understand complex text, reference service methodology, and acquisition practices.
Attendance is limited to 35.
