New Full Text Article: “Impact of Public Domain Resources on Public Libraries in the United States”

Here’s a forthcoming full text article scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Librarianship and Information Science.
Note: Isn’t the Journal of Librarianship and Information Science a fee-based/paywalled publication? Yes, it is.
However, the team at SAGE is making the full text (HTML and PDF) of the article available to infoDOCKET readers at no charge.
Just click and read. You do not have to register to access the full text. The article will be available at no charge until June 1. 2014. 
Many thanks to SAGE for making this article available to infoDOCEKT so we can share it with you. More articles to come. (-:

Title

Impact of Public Domain Resources on Public Libraries in the United States

Authors

Anne Arendt
Utah Valley University
Dustin Fife
San Juan County Library, Utah

Source

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science (JOLIS)
DOI: 10.1177/0961000613518573
Made Available via OnlineFirst (Forthcoming articles published ahead of print)

Abstract

Ownership and rights issues relating to electronic resources can be a source of angst, confusion and litigation. This is due in part to the automatic copyright many individuals receive, including in the United States, upon creation of an original work. However, there are options available for relaxing these rights. One of these options is Creative Commons Zero. Essentially, Creative Commons Zero permits originators of materials of varying sorts to opt to put their creations into the public domain – waiving all copyright and intellectual rights.
The ability for originators of works to place these items into the public domain affects not just that individual, but also all others who might make use of the resources or be affected by others who make use of the resources. One area likely to be both directly and indirectly impacted is libraries. After all, a public library is accessible by the public and contains a collection of materials or records kept for reference or borrowing and is generally funded from public sources. In the United States there are
approximately 9225 public libraries (administrative entities) in all 50 states and the District of Columbia (US Census Bureau, 2009).
Based on the above, this document researches the awareness, complexity and effects of Creative Commons Zero and related licenses on libraries as perceived by library directors and managers across the United States. In order to accomplish this, a quantitative survey was administered in an anonymous web-based format.

Direct to Full Text Article

Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries