Chapter Six
Digital Information
and Software
This chapter will discuss how licenses and copyright law interact to control libraries’ use of digital information. Today, software and digital products generally are transferred under license. That is, unlike books you purchase, you generally will not own the digital products that publishers license to you.
Licensing information is more like renting an apartment than buying a house. Just as landlords may ban dogs or loud music in their rentals, publishers and information vendors may add a number of conditions to your use of their digital resources. These conditions may be more restrictive than copyright law requires. The most important thing to remember about licenses is to read them carefully. Contracts can override default copyright rules; if you are not vigilant, you may sign away the privileges that libraries are allowed under copyright law.
Some publishers have begun offering “digital ownership” or “perpetual access” to digital resources. These options usually involve a large payment with smaller annual fees to maintain access to publisher services and updates. An advantage of these arrangements is that you own the digital copies and don’t lose access to them if you cancel the database subscription. But these purchases will be governed by a contract, too; examine it closely so you know exactly what you are buying. Do you get continued access to the database search functions? If you just get thousands of digital articles, it might be difficult to access them without a search mechanism. Buying digital copies can make sense, but you want to be sure you can use
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