VLA Council Meeting Highlights, April 11, 2014

by Terry Long, VALL liaison to VLA Council 

·         Membership is showing strength as the renewal period has just begun - 773 members have renewed and there are 147 new members.

·         VLA’s new web site will go live by May 1.

·         Shari Henry is working on making the VLA Manual consistent with its by-laws.

·         Several council members participated in a conference call with Senator Warner. Kevin Smith said it went very well.

·         Phil Abraham, the VLA lobbyist spoke to the Council:

o   State Aid has fared well despite the current budget debacle in the General Assembly.

o   The budget impasse may affect public law libraries.

o   There are two different attorney general opinions on whether the government can continue to operate after July 1 if a budget has not passed.

o   John Ulmschneider, Legislative Committee co-chair, commended Phil’s good work on behalf of VLA.

·         VLA’s Paraprofessional Forum will be held May 18-20 in Richmond. Registration is open.

·         The Paraprofessional Forum is changing its name to Professional Associates Forum as they want to broaden their membership base to those working in libraries that are not librarians, i.e. financial staff, facilities managers, administrative assistants, etc. And, likewise, the Forum will provide programing of interest to them.

·         Ten VLA members have signed up to attend National Legislative Day May 5-6. VLA pays up to $300 per day for a member to attend.

·         VLA Annual Conference is October 22-24 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Williamsburg

o   Programs submissions will be reviewed and selections made mid-May.

o   28 vendors have already signed up.

o   Fundraising is going well, $5200 has been raised with a goal of $11,000.

o   Wednesday afternoon tours will be offered of Swem Library. Shuttle service will be provided.

o   The unconference will be held in the hotel atrium instead of a meeting room to be more accessible.

·         New Member mentoring program is going well. There will continue to be directed Twitter chats and a visit to a winery is planned.

·         The Leadership Development Academy had more applicants than places. It convenes in Staunton at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel from May 5-6. There will be 24 attendees.

·         The Library of Virginia is the host for the National Genealogical Conference, May 7-10. The conference is huge 2300 people are expected –according to the NGS web site all 6 downtown hotels are booked – they have also reserved rooms in many suburban hotels!  For the first time, the Library will be open one evening.

·         The Library of Virginia is conducting social media boot camps for public libraries to be held throughout the state in May.

AALL 2014 Leadership Academy

by Ben Almoite

 

I was privileged to have been chosen to participate in this year’s AALL Leadership Academy, April 4-5, at the Hyatt Lodge at McDonald’s Campus, in Oak Brook, Illinois. Yes, that’s THE McDonald’s! The location of the two-day workshop was in the same grounds that include McDonald’s Corporate Headquarters, and Hamburger University nearby. If one needed further proof where you were, the hotel showcased much McDonald’s-themed art throughout its halls (see accompanying pictures). In addition, the timing of the academy could not have been any better, as it took place exactly one week before my official succession as VALL President.

 

 

It was a very intense yet educational two days. The academy was led by Gail Johnson and Pam Parr, of Face To Face Communications and Training, Inc. Their presentations were very entertaining and engaging. As participants we watched PowerPoint slides, took short, interesting tests and played “ice breakers” and team building games. From all these activities we learned about the “myths” and definitions of leadership, people’s different styles of communication and leadership, how to communicate clearly and directly, and how to have the “tough talk” or difficult conversation with co-workers. In addition, we learned how one’s values and leadership go hand-in-hand, and how to motivate yourself and others at the workplace. 

 

The academy was also notable in that three VALL members had been selected to participate this year. In addition to me, Debbie Shrager of George Mason Law Library and Andrew Winston of the University of Richmond Law Library were in attendance.

 

VALL members, L-R: Andrew Winston, Debbie Shrager and Ben Almoite

 

All in all, it was a very informative and productive two days. I am very grateful to have been awarded the VALL grant that allowed me to participate in such an innovative workshop. I definitely plan to practice the skills I have learned during this year’s AALL Leadership Academy - during my coming year as VALL President, and beyond.



Choice Reviews Online April 2014

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Zarnowski, Frank.  American work-sports: a history of competitions for cornhuskers, lumberjacks, firemen and others.  McFarland, 2013.  230p bibl  index  afp ISBN 9780786467846 <http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9780786467846> pbk, $35.00; ISBN 9780786491261 ebook <http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9780786491261 ebook>, contact publisher for price (reviewed in CHOICE April 2014).

 Full review available online: http://www.cro3.org/lookup/doi/10.5860/CHOICE.51-4507

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Surdam, David George.  Run to glory & profits: the economic rise of the NFL during the 1950s.  Nebraska, 2013.  433p bibl  index  afp ISBN 9780803246966 <http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9780803246966>, $55.00 (reviewed in CHOICE April 2014).

 Full review available online: http://www.cro3.org/lookup/doi/10.5860/CHOICE.51-4565

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Smil, Vaclav.  Made in the USA: the rise and retreat of American manufacturing.  MIT, 2013.  263p bibl  indexes  afp ISBN 9780262019385 <http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9780262019385> pbk, $27.95 (reviewed in CHOICE April 2014).

 Full review available online: http://www.cro3.org/lookup/doi/10.5860/CHOICE.51-4563

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Sax, Boria.  Imaginary animals: the monstrous, the wondrous and the human.  Reaktion Books, 2013.  278p bibl ISBN 9781780231730 <http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9781780231730>, $39.00 (reviewed in CHOICE April 2014).

 Full review available online: http://www.cro3.org/lookup/doi/10.5860/CHOICE.51-4212

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Rutherford, Jennifer.  Zombies.  Routledge, 2013.  111p bibl  index ISBN 9780415524476 <http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9780415524476>, $100.00; ISBN 9780415524483 <http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9780415524483> pbk, $19.95; ISBN 9780203101841 ebook <http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/isbn/9780203101841 ebook>, contact publisher for price (reviewed in CHOICE April 2014).

 Full review available online: http://www.cro3.org/lookup/doi/10.5860/CHOICE.51-4227

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Reprinted with permission from the American Library Association.

Spring Meeting Deadline!

April 7 is the deadline for registrations to the Spring Meeting which will be held on April 11 from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm at South University. Make sure you get your registerations in next week to make the deadline. Here is the link to the registration form, food and parking information: http://vall.pbworks.com/w/file/76518296/VALL_2014_Spring_Meeting_Registration_FINAL.pdf

VALL Grants

The VALL Executive Board has directed the Grants committee to award three grants to help members interested in attending the AALL Annual Meeting in San Antonio. The first of these grants is the Barbara Cumming Professional Development Grant in the amount of $500. This grant is named after a long-time VALL member and was established by her firm upon her death. Priority for this grant will be given to a firm librarian. The other two grants are VALL/AALL Travel Grants in the amount of $1000 each.

All three grants use the common application form found on the VALL wiki. The application form and information about the grants can be found here: http://vall.pbworks.com/w/page/23509251/VALL%20Grants

The deadline for all of the grants is 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1, 2014.

Why Copyright?

by Paul Hellyer

So why should VALLTalk have a series on copyright law, of all things? I would say that for most

librarians, there’s no area of law more important than copyright. Being a librarian is all about sharing intellectual property, in one way or another.  We need to know how to get our jobs done without getting ourselves into trouble.

But for librarians, copyright should be more than just a cautionary tale. Copyright knowledge  is empowering in our day-to-day work. It also gives us an opportunity to advocate for our patrons’ interests.
Copyright law has long been a tug-of-war between owners’ interests and users’ interests. On the owners’ side, publishers and movie studios spend a great deal of money on advertising, lobbyists and lawyers to advance their interests. But it’s harder for users to organize and represent themselves.  We’re bombarded by messages about owners’ rights. What about users’ rights? Who will stand up for them?

Now I can hear some of you saying, “but users have no rights. Copyright law is for the benefit of copyright owners.” If you think this, you’ve been listening to the wrong people.

The ultimate purpose of copyright law is not to protect owners’ interests. It’s to “promote the progress of science and the useful arts.” That’s from the Constitution, Article I, Section 8. The Supreme Court has made it clear that copyright is ultimately designed to promote the public’s interests. See Twentieth Century Music Corp. v. Aiken, 422 U.S. 151, 156 (1975) (“[T]he ultimate aim is . . . to stimulate artistic creativity for the general public good”); U.S. v. Paramount Pictures, 334 U.S. 131, 158 (1948) (“[C]opyright law . . . makes reward to the owner a secondary consideration”);  Fox Films Corp. v. Doyal, 286 U.S. 123, 127 (1932) (“[T]he primary object [of copyright] lie[s] in the general benefits derived by the public from the labors of authors”).

Copyright is a balance between incentives for creators and access for the public. Publishers have been putting a lot of weight on their end of the scale. Librarians can put some pressure on the other end.

Congress has already acknowledged the special role that libraries play in the dissemination of intellectual property. We have our own section in the Copyright Act, Section 108, that gives libraries certain rights beyond what other users can do. Libraries exercise these rights for the benefit of their patrons. We also benefit from fair use rights, which are especially strong when we’re serving academic researchers.

To benefit from these rights, we have to educate ourselves. We can’t rely on publishers to tell us what to do. When it comes to copyright law, publishers are usually not a reliable source of information. They tend to overreach in describing their own rights and often fail to acknowledge fair use and other exceptions. Librarians need to create their own forums for copyright law.

So that’s why copyright is on VALLTalk.

If you have questions about copyright law that you would like to see addressed in this column, please send them to me at phellyer@wm.edu. I can’t provide legal advice, but like any commentator, I can discuss hypotheticals or general questions.

I also hope to be writing soon on the 11^th Circuit’s forthcoming ruling in Cambridge University Press v. Becker. This case is a great example of a library and university standing up for users’ rights. Oral arguments were held in November, so the ruling could come any time now. This is an important case for libraries and for fair use, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Paul Hellyer has been a reference librarian at William & Mary Law School since 2005 and he is co-author of Librarian’s Copyright Companion, 2^nd ed., published in 2012 by Hein.

VALL Spring Meeting 2014

The meeting will be held at South University on April 11 from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm. Here is the link to registration information including progam, food and directions: http://vall.pbworks.com/w/file/76518296/VALL_2014_Spring_Meeting_Registration_FINAL.pdf

Deadline is April 7 ... don't let it creep up on you ... apply now!