Thanks, Don, and I’ll be carrying your email forward to use in one of my classes on programming this fall!
Dr. Cindy C. Welch
Clinical Associate Professor
School of Information Sciences
University of Tennessee
Phone: 865-974-7918
From: Tennessee Library Association and other Tennessee librarians <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of "Donald B. Reynolds" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: "Donald B. Reynolds" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, March 27, 2020 at 11:16 AM
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Online or video story time and copyright fair use / Resource Lists
[External Email]
Dear Friends and Good People -
With the multiple emails arriving daily about virtual story times and fair use copyright concerns, thought it would be helpful to pull together the relevant materials in one place.
Online or video story time and copyright fair use:
---------- Forwarded message ---------
Date: Mon, Mar 16, 2020 at 12:37 PM
Subject:
Online or video story time and fair use.
I received your message about online story time. I’m the copyright specialist for ALA, and while I cannot provide you with legal advice, here is my professional opinion.
Because of exigent circumstances (the closing of library etc due to the virus), your use of online technology to deliver story time is a clear fair use, meaning that it is not an infringement
to conduct these public performances.
Here is a good explanation of why this is true:
https://kylecourtney.com/2020/03/11/covid-19-copyright-library-superpowers-part-i/
Some book publishers are making public statements that it’s okay for libraries to conduct online story time considering what is going on in the world. This is a very nice gesture but I
want you to also understand, that even without publisher approval, this use is a fair use. The social benefits far outweigh any revenue that rights holders would otherwise collect.
Good luck!
Carrie Russell
<[log in to unmask]>
Director, Public Policy and Advocacy, ALA Washington Office
A Crisis - as in School Closures Due to Coronavirus—Justifies Fair Use, Say Librarians 14 March 2020
Public Statement of Library Copyright Specialists: Fair Use & Emergency Remote Teaching & Research 13 March 2020
Tackling Copyright Concerns When Taking Storytime Online
9 April 2019
Publishers Adapt Policies To Help Educators
18 March 2020
Online Story Time & Coronavirus: It’s Fair Use, Folks
By Sarah Ostman, ALA Public Programs Office, 24 March 2020
Resource Lists:
Anna Yackle
<[log in to unmask]>, Membership Coordinator of the Illinois Heartland Library System in Carbondale, created a terrific list as a starting point for
libraries to share with their communities. Her list of Online Resources to Help Adults Stay Sane in the Time of CoVid -19
has been expanded by others.
