Rebecca P. Butler’s guidebook to copyright for academic librarians and professionals

CHICAGO — In “Copyright for Academic Librarians and Professionals,” published by ALA Editions, seasoned copyright expert Rebecca P. Butler turns her attention to the unique and complex environment of higher education. This practical guidebook will show readers how to make informed decisions regarding the use and availability of print, non-print and online resources. Based on Butler’s 17 years of experience conducting copyright workshops and courses, her book matches real-world scenarios with interpretations of the law from copyright experts in the field to provide a thorough understanding of current, everyday applications of copyright law in higher education. Beginning with a solid grounding in the underlying principles of copyright law, such as fair use, public domain, permissions, plagiarism, documentation and licenses, Creative Commons, Open Source (OS) and Open Access (OS), she explains documentation and licenses, creation and ownership, violations and penalties, international copyright law and how to avoid copyright problems. She then moves on to specific applications of copyright law, including:

• internet resources such as blogs/vlogs, podcasts, wikis, social networking tools and more;
• DVDs, television, and streaming and on-demand video;
• distance learning, with an examination of how the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act relate to and affect the many aspects of distance education;
• computer and gaming software, handheld applications and mobile technologies;
• CDs, music, and audio;
• multimedia and print works.

Butler is a presidential teaching professor in the Department of Educational Technology, Research, and Assessment, College of Education, at Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois. At NIU, she teaches graduate (master’s and doctoral) students in school library media and instructional technology. She has conducted a variety of workshops, conferences and graduate classes on the topic of copyright and has written numerous articles and columns for library and technology professional journals, including Knowledge Quest, TechTrends, School Libraries Worldwide and Library Trends. Her previous books include “Copyright for Teachers & Librarians in the 21st Century,” “Smart Copyright Compliance for Schools: A How-To-Do-It Manual” and “Copyright for Teachers and Librarians.”  

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