ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


331

A C R L Chapters
• T he M i s s o u r i  A C R L  C h a p t e r  m et at the 

annual Missouri Library Association Conference 
Septem ber 28, 1978, at the Hilton Airport Inn, 
Kansas City. This business m eeting was for the 
purpose of electing officers for 1978-79. They are: 

C h a ir p er so n
Joan na T od d, D ir e c to r  o f R ead er S e rv ice s, 

Hugh Stephens Library, Stephens College, Co­
lumbia, MO 65201;

V ice-C h a ir p ers o n  /C h a ir p ers o n  elect 
Dana Rooks, Head, Instructional & Research 

Services, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 8100 
Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63130;

S e c r eta r y  /Tre a s u r e r
M arjorie Sellers, Interlibrary Loan Librarian, 

Mid America Interlibrary Services Program Assis­
tant, Park College Library, Parkville, MO 64152.

M A C RL and the P u blic Lib rary Division of 
MLA sponsored a mini-workshop, “How to get 
there: staff developm ent,” conducted by Barbara 
Conroy, educational consultant, on Friday, Sep­
te m b e r 29. T hat ev en in g M A C RL was a jo in t 
sponsor for the all-conference autograph party for 
Barbara Conroy, Robert Corm ier, and Sharon Bell 
M ath is.— M a r jo r ie  S e lle r s , S e c r e t a r y , M issou ri 
A C R L  C h a p te r. ■■

Photocopying and the 
Copyright Law

T he Association o f American Publishers, Inc. 
(AAP) and the Authors League of America, Inc. 
have issued a pamphlet entitled P h o to co p y in g  by 
A c a d e m ic ‚ P ublic a n d  N on p ro fit R e se a rc h  L ib r a r ­
ies. This pamphlet contains interpretations of the 
new copyright law and its guidelines similar to 
those found in AAP’s earlier publication P h o to ­
co p y in g  b y  C o r p o r a te  L ib r a r ie s .

Although these pamphlets purport to explain 
the new copyright law as it applies to libraries, 
they in fact contain distortions o f fact and misrep­
resentations o f the law and its guidelines. Some 
examples of these are:

• Beginning on page three and throughout the 
text AAP refers to section 107 on “fair use” 
as being restricted  by section 108. This is 
clearly incorrect. It is stated in section 108 
that nothing in section 108 “in any way af­
fects the right of fair use as provided by sec­
tion 107. … ”

• Beginning on page nine and throughout the 
text AAP presents the Classroom Guidelines 
as indicating that uses other than those spec­
ified by the guidelines are not perm itted. 
The Classroom Guidelines themselves state 
that uses that do not fall within the permis­
sible provisions may still be defensible under 
section 107 “fair use. ”

• AAP assumes that the minimums stated in 
the Guidelines are maximums although the 
Guidelines clearly indicate they are not.

• AAP states that reserve desk copying is gov­
erned by the Classroom G uidelines rather 
than guidelines in section 108. This is the 
AAP’s interpretation of the law and has no 
legal basis.

• T he discussion of the relative weights to be

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a
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placed on the Senate and House Reports is 
distorted and misleading. Contrary to what 
AAP states, it is the House report that had a 
greater influence on the C onference Com ­
m ittee, which adopted the House language 
in its report.

The library associations believe that the p re­
sent law and its guidelines and the explanatory 
materials distributed by the Copyright Office and 
the American Library Association are sufficient 
guidance on which to provide lib rary service. 
They also believe that some decisions concerning 
library photocopying must rem ain jud gm ental 
since all combinations o f circumstance and con­
tingency cannot be anticipated and provided for 
in guidelines.

T he American Library Association warns: “L i­
b ra ria n s shou ld r e m e m b e r  th at u n ila te ra l 
guidelines, independently issued, have no valid­
ity under the law. Our present responsibilities 
re (1) to live with the law and guidelines as they 
ere approved by Congress and as they exist to­

ay, and (2) to develop recording, documenting, 
nd reporting procedures for the five year review 
y the Register of Copyrights mandated by sec­
ion 108 (i).”

W e endorse that statement in the be lief that it 
represents the best interests of academic libraries 
nd th e ir users. L ib rarian s d esirin g  guidance 
hou ld rev iew  m a te ria l p u b lish e d  by th e  
opyright Office and the material distributed by 

he American Library Association in their L ib r a r ­
a n ’s C o p y rig h t Kit.

T h is sta te m e n t has b e e n  approved  by the 
C R L  Ad Hoc C opyright C o m m ittee and the 
CRL Board o f Directors. ■■