Since the announcement of the Google settlement, the Internet has abounded with fantasy suggestions for changes in the agreement. On his personal blog, executive director for the Digital Library Federation Peter Brantley offers a level-headed proposal on expanding access to the public in areas with “underprivileged populations.” Simply put: “I propose that public terminals be accessible on a tiered basis. If a certain percentage of a public library’s served population falls beneath the poverty level or a similar metric, the number of public access terminals is commensurately increased. At public libraries, internet access is a priority; so is access to […]
Libraries
WorldCatFight
OCLC posted a new policy for the transfer of WorldCat biobliographic records recently that quickly provoked a worried reaction from community members. Terry Reese at the Oregon State University library posted concerns that the service was trying to claim ownership over data contributed by individual libraries: “What OCLC has going for them is the WorldCat database that has been created by publicly funded institutions (like the Library of Congress, universities and public libraries)…. What we have here is OCLC looking to claim ownership over metadata within WorldCat and outside of WorldCat – and I don’t believe that this is something […]
Harvard Remains a Google Dissenter
Harvard University was one of the earliest Google Library project participants to decide to let the search giant scan and post only out-of-copyright books from its collections, and the Harvard Crimson says that policy will not change even if the court approves the legal settlements announced earlier this week. University Library director Robert Darnton said in a letter to staff. “As we understand it, the settlement contains too many potential limitations on access to and use of the books by members of the higher education community and by patrons of public libraries.” He also noted: “The settlement provides no assurance […]