Protecting Your Library S Digital Sources

This is the authoritative e-preservation resource for reference librarians, preservationists, archivists, and records managers who create and maintain electronic resources.

In a world of users that routinely click “I Agree” buttons, librarians may be the lone voice raising an alert to the privacy, use, and ownership issues arising in connection with the design and implementation of digital rights management (DRM) technologies. DRM reflects the efforts of copyright owners to prevent the illegal distribution of copyrighted material – an admirable goal on its face. A common misunderstanding is that DRM is copyright law. It is not. Rather it is a method of preventing copyright infringement; however, if unchecked, DRM has the potential to violate privacy, limit ownership rights, and undermine the delicate balance of rights and policies established by our current system of copyright. All three of these arenas are critical for both librarians and their users. Reflecting the shift from ownership to access, libraries are increasingly providing access to rights-protected digital content. Libraries strive to provide access to rights-protected content in a manner that protects both the content creator and the privacy of the user. DRM encompasses a variety of technologies and strategies utilized by content owners and managers to limit access to and the use of rights-protected content. Librarians need to understand DRM to effectively enable users to access and use rights-protected digital content while at the same time protecting the privacy of the user. Designed to address the practical operational and planning issues related to DRM, this guide explores the critical issues and challenges faced by librarians. After reading it, librarians will better understand: the digital content rights protection scheme; the various DRM technologies and how they are used; how to use authentication and authorization standards, strategies, and technologies; and, the privacy and security issues related to DRM. Edited by two librarians who also hold law degrees, this is a best practices guide for front-line librarians on how to best respond to the impact of DRM schemes on collection development, staffing, budget, service, and other library concerns.

This resource from Pekoll, Assistant Director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), uses specific case studies to offer practical guidance on safeguarding intellectual freedom related to library displays, programming, and other librarian-created content.

Collecting several key documents and policy statements, this supplement to the ninth edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual traces a history of ALA’s commitment to fighting censorship. An introductory essay by Judith Krug and Candace Morgan, updated by OIF Director Barbara Jones, sketches out an overview of ALA policy on intellectual freedom. An important resource, this volume includes documents which discuss such foundational issues as The Library Bill of RightsProtecting the freedom to readALA’s Code of EthicsHow to respond to challenges and concerns about library resourcesMinors and internet activityMeeting rooms, bulletin boards, and exhibitsCopyrightPrivacy, including the retention of library usage records

This work skeptically explores the notion that the internet will soon obviate any need for traditional print-based academic libraries. It makes a case for the library’s staying power in the face of technological advancements (television, microfilm, and CD-ROM’s were all once predicted as the contemporary library’s heir-apparent), and devotes individual chapters to the pitfalls and prevarications of popular search engines, e-books, and the mass digitization of traditional print material.

A brand new and fully updated edition of this seminal work on archival preservation. Access to archival material – the documentary heritage of people all over the world that gives them their identity and ensures their rights – is dependent on the survival of fragile materials: paper, parchment, photographic materials, audiovisual materials and, most recently, magnetic, optical and increasingly digital formats. The primary importance of such survival is widely acknowledged but sometimes overlooked in a rush to provide ever better means of access. But without the basic material, no services can be offered. Preservation is at the heart of archival activity. Archivists in all types of organizations face questions on how to plan a preservation strategy in less than perfect circumstances, or deal with a sudden emergency. This book considers the causes of threats to the basic material, outlines the preservation options available and offers flexible solutions applicable in a variety of situations. It offers a wide range of case studies and examples from international specialists. This revised edition includes additional material on digital preservation and green building as well as a new chapter on the management and training of volunteers, reflecting a key concern for many archival institutions. Key topics are: • Understanding archival materials and their characteristics • Managing digital preservation • Archive buildings and their characteristics • Safeguarding the building and its contents • Managing archival storage • Managing risks and avoiding disaster • Creating and using surrogates • Exhibiting archives • Handling the records • Managing a pest control programme • Training and the use of volunteers • Putting preservation into practice. Readership: Archivists, librarians, curators and enthusiasts, trained and untrained, in museums, local studies centres and voluntary societies in need of good clear advice.