Anne Ramsden

Some proposals regarding copyright clearance and digitisation in higher education

Reports the results of a study undertaken to consider the issues relating to the clearance of rights by British higher education institutions for the digitisation of materials published in print. Current licensing models frequently involve prices which librarians find daunting and have no mechanism for recovering from users. There is also considerable variation in pricing of materials. The authors believe that a ‘one-stop shop’ for the clearance of digitisation rights would be a highly desirable development. However, negotiability of rates may be made impossible by the introduction of ‘one-stop shopping’ through a centralised agency. Electronic copyright management system (ECMS) technology for solving the many problems of managing licences for digitised content is not yet proven. Not having ECMS, a strong ‘compliance culture’ will be essential. Users and rights owners want straightforward, simple and, above all, brief contracts for licensing. There is therefore a need for a shared, unambiguous licence vocabulary. The paper suggests a set of definitions of uses and user types. Using these definitions, a matrix of use and users is proposed to show types of activities for which a library may seek to license materials from a publisher and for which a publisher may grant a licence. Many of the problems could be resolved if the suggested ‘one-stop shop’ central agency acted on behalf of publishers in granting digital rights (or acting as a clearing house for requests).

Charging mechanisms for digitised texts

This article is an edited and condensed version of the report of a study carried out under the auspices of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and the Publishers Association (PA). It develops the conclusions of an earlier analysis (Bide, Oppenheim & Ramsden, 1997) and builds upon discussions between representatives of JISC and the PA held in the summer of 1997. The full report is available on the UKOLN server at www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/elib/papers/pa/charging/

Electronic information for students ‐the Elinor project

De Montfort Universitys electronic library project, code-named ELINOR (Electronic Library Information Online Retrieval) is using the latest document image processing technologies to build a document database containing the full contents of undergraduate texts, including copyright material and university documents. Access is via networked desktop workstations. The aim of the project is to develop a more efficient and effective means of accessing and sharing resources within a networked muti-campus institution. From the outset this project has involved collaboration with publishers, staff and students

Networking and licensing texts for electronic libraries: De Montfort University′s experience

Contends that networking and licensing texts for electronic libraries give rise to a number of significant issues, notably copyright and how to set a price which will give the publisher a reasonable return on investment and will be regarded by libraries as a fair and realistic scheme. Describes the experience of one university which has been carrying out extensive electronic library work over the last three years and draws conclusions which could have relevance at the national level.

Networking and licensing texts for electronic libraries: De Montfort University’s experience

Contends that networking and licensing texts for electronic libraries give rise to a number of significant issues, notably copyright and how to set a price which will give the publisher a reasonable return on investment and will be regarded by libraries as a fair and realistic scheme. Describes the experience of one university which has been carrying out extensive electronic library work over the last three years and draws conclusions which could have relevance at the national level.