As we all know, copyright issues can been incredibly tricky to figure out—particularly since social media has made it so easy for everyone to publically share material online. The issue of copyright becomes even more complex when you consider all the material that moves through a K-12 classroom, especially when student-research projects are involved. The American Library Association, or ALA, has today released a new copyright reference book created specifically for K-12 educators and libraries.
The book, Complete Copyright for K-12 Librarians and Educators, was created by the ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy in response to a recent survey that found that many of the copyright reference tools that teachers and libraries use are either incorrect or incomplete. Carrie Russell, director of the ALA’s Program on Public Access to Information, penned the book.
According to a press release issued by the ALA, the K-12 community tends to make overly cautious copyright decisions because of liability fears. The book is designed to help librarians and teachers better understand how to make decisions about material used in classrooms, as well as in more public events such as school plays or musical performances.
Just think, this could be your chance to become your school’s expert on “fair use.” It sounds as if the process might be kind of fun, too: Cartoonist Jessica Abel has been tapped to create the illustrations.