0.9 Digitization projects and copyright

Chapter 10: Digitization Projects

Since acquiring a good scanner, Eric has been scanning every picture and document he can find related to his favorite hobby: classic race cars. He can’t own a car himself, yet. He goes to rallies and other public displays, gets the owner’s permission, and takes pictures of all the cars he can. He has also learned that some archives have older pictures of these cars, and has been able to acquire copies of some of these. He occasionally “borrows” pictures from online displays. Later on, he discovered magazine advertisements from throughout the 20 ^th century in a large public library database of magazines. Most recently, Eric has begun to interview car owners. Altogether, he believes he’s created a nice online collection on his hobby.

Are there any copyright concerns Eric should be aware of?

Since the technology became available, museums, libraries, and other organizations have been eagerly scanning pictures, documents, and other items and placing them online. It’s often fun and brings publicity to an organization. It makes documents easier to find, and if a good taxonomy is followed, it makes photographs easier to find as well. However, copyright laws do not always allow people to digitize and share everything they would like to.

By the end of this chapter you should be able to answer:

I. What are the copyright concerns when digitizing documents or photographs that you do not own?

II. What are the copyri8ght concerns when making digital photographs of objects or artwork?

III. Did the “Google Books” project violate copyright?

Before getting in to copyright issues, the reader should review three online digitized collections. Below are given a small, medium, and large online collection.

The APA 32 San Saba (External Link) .

The San Saba was a ship that sailed the Pacific during World War II. The veterans and their descendants have collected photographs and documentation of the San Saba and the men who served on it. The web site is a small, informal collection. (Small Project)

The Drake Heritage Collections (External Link)

The purpose of the Drake Heritage Collections is to collect, digitize, and preserve important stories of Drake University's 125-year history. Photographs and articles are scanned and oral histories from eye witnesses are recorded. These are then presented online to reach the largest possible audience. (Medium Project)

The Library of Congress American Memory Project (External Link)

The American Memory Project “is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America…” (Very Large Project)