ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries Ja n u a r y 1 9 9 7 / 2 7 In tern et Re v ie w s S a ra A m a to , editor Co p yright a n d Fair Use: Stan fo rd U n iv ersity Lib ra ries. Access: http: //fairuse.Stanford.edu. The term “fair use” is one that lib ra ria n s h e a r fr e ­ quently, and this Web site is committed to making that idea a little more clear for the confused or curious. It is a very good starting point for an examination o f copy­ right law in the United States and internationally, and pro­ vides a source of informa­ tion on the latest breaking news in this area. Keep in mind that the sites I mention provide a good overview of the issues and a review of recent government initiatives. For news of other governments, it will be necessary to supple­ ment these sites with information on the laws o f specific countries. Perhaps the most central documents in this area, which are currently the subject o f much debate, are HR 3531, the Database Investment and Intellectual Property Antipiracy Act of 1996, and the WIPO (World Intellectual Property As­ sociation) database proposal. Both of these are put together in a neat package at the top of this page. These two documents alone would make this a useful site to anyone concerned with copyright, but there is much more here. Links are also provided to references in the C on g ression al R e co rd and to a list of contacts. There is also a link to the World Intellectual Property Organization Diplomatic Conference (held in December). For those who want a more detailed look at the issues, this page also provides a large amount o f information under the heading “Ar­ ticles, Analysis, and Letters.” Here can be found a wide variety o f articles both for and against the proposed legislation. The “Library Copy­ right Guidelines” link provides access to the copyright-related policies and publications of many libraries, a useful resource for those look­ ing into developing their own documents, or Copyright & Fair Use Stanford U niversity Libraries investigating what others are doing about this issue. An­ other link to “Articles and Publications” provides a long list of articles and connec­ tions to bulletins, journals, and newsletters on copyright and fair use. Links can also be found to primary materi­ als (the Constitution, case law, statutes), a collection of materials on the National In­ formation Infrastructure, and a section on fair use and multimedia. This page will be o f great use, both to the expert on copyright issues and the person who is just interested in developing a deeper un­ derstanding of the issues that surround copy­ right. For those who need more information on this topic, the Electronic Frontier Founda­ tion has an intellectual property page at http:/ /www.eff.org/pub/Intellectual_property with a wealth o f information; Cornell has a copyright site at http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/ copyright.html; and a rather large and w ell-or ganized collection of links can be found at http: // access-iplaw.com. As libraries continue to introduce new tech­ nologies and increase access to information, these issues seem to becom e more and more complex, while the answers seem to be harder to find. As a person faced with these issues, I found these sites to be very useful.— D oug H orne, University o f Guelph; d h om e@ u o g u elp h . c a G o v e rn m e n t Inform ation S h a rin g Pro j ect. A ccess: http://govinfo.kerr.orst.edu/. The Government Information Sharing Project (GISP) is a product o f the fine work of the Information Services staff at the Oregon State University Library. Originally funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant, the project’s mission is to demonstrate how technology can b e used to create a user-friendly and powerful system for accessing U.S. federal government information. To that end, GISP provides access to statistical data on federal government CD- ROMs to remote users over the Internet. Sara A m ato is au to m a ted systems librarian a t Central W ashington University; sa m a to @ ta h o m a .cw u .ed u http://www.eff.org/pub/Intellectual_property http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/ http://govinfo.kerr.orst.edu/ mailto:samato@tahoma.cwu.edu 2 8 / C&RL News The statistical databases available at this site include: 1 9 9 0 C ensus o f P o p u la tio n a n d H o u s­ in g (STF 3A summary files); USA Counties (1996); P op u lation Estim ates b y Age, S ex & R ace: 1 9 9 0 –9 2 ; 1 9 6 9 –9 4 R e g io n a l E c o n o m ic I n f o r ­ m a t i o n S y s te m ; 1 9 9 2 E c o n o m i c C e n s u s : D iscs 1H, 2A (zip co d e tabu lation), and 4; C e n s u s o f A g r ic u lt u r e : 1 9 8 2 , 1 9 8 7 , 1 9 9 2 ; U.S. Im p o rts/E x p o rts H istory: 1 991– 9 5 ; C o n ­ s o l i d a t e d F e d e r a l F u n d s R ep orts: 1 9 8 6 – 9 5 ; a n d S c h o o l D is t r i c t D a t a B o o k P r o f i l e s : 1 9 8 9 – 9 0 . In addition, a list of other government Web sites, arranged by subject, is provided. There appears to be a commitment to updating and add­ ing new databases as they are made available. The homepage provides the user with the option o f a graphic-intensive interface or a text- only menu. From this page, each database has a link that provides users with three options: a search form, a description o f the geographic areas covered in the database, and an informa­ tion page describing the database. The infor­ mation provided is derived from the technical documentation accompanying each CD-ROM. The statistical reports available are gener­ ally preformatted summaries. Those seeking more interactive data retrieval will need to con­ tinue to use the CD-ROM products, or in the case o f the 1 9 9 0 C ensu s o f P o p u la tio n a n d H ousing, use the 1990 Census Look Up service ( h ttp :/ / c e d r .lb l.g o v / c d r o m / d o c / lo o k u p _doc.html). This limitation does not diminish the value of the service provided by GISP. By providing in one site a wide variety o f federal statistical databases and creating a uniform and user-friendly search interface, GISP has certainly reached the goal o f providing easy access to government information to remote users.— A r le n e W eible, W illam ette University; a w e ih le @ w illa m ette .e d u M CS: The M ed ia a n d Co m m u n icatio ns Stu d ies Site. A ccess: http://www.aber. a c . uk/~dgc/medmenu.html. A fairly accurate quote from GNN Select, “From semiotics to soap operas, if it’s communications scholarship, it’s here,” captures the essence of this site, subtitled “Constructivism at W ork.” Originating from the Department o f Education at the University o f Wales, it was developed by Daniel Chandler, a lecturer in media theory. Also touted as “one o f the very best U.K. sites” for media studies and in existence since the spring o f 1995, this comprehensive site does not necessarily focus on British interests but in­ stead is global in its approach. The communica­ tions and media disciplines include issues o f gen­ der, class, and ethnicity; mass media issues including TV, radio, film, and information technology; and the history and theory of the disciplines. Upper-level and graduate students, as well as faculty in the fields o f mass media, com ­ puter mediated communication, film and gen­ der studies, cultural studies and advertising, and marketing, will find extensive links within 18 categories identified on the front page entitled the “Main Index.” Other subject categories in­ clude media education, textual analysis, and visual image. Highlights in the Main Index are the essential specialized discussion groups that include listservs as well as newsgroups; the ’’Journals and Magazines” page which lists close to 100 links, all alphabetically arranged; and the “General Reference” page which gives a breakdown o f associations, councils, interest groups, and so cieties; indexes o f resou rces on media and com m u nication, scholars on the W eb; and university departm ents, c e n ­ ters, and cou rses with pointers to not only U.K. but also E uropean , U .S., Asian, and o th er international research centers. Within the subject categories, there is a “Sec­ tion Index” w hich further breaks down the topic, and all links are contained on one con ­ tinuous page. For instance, the “Visual Image” page lists cartoons, comics, optical illusions, photography, visual literacy, and visual percep­ tion. Links on different pages include course modules, Alta Vista searches such as “The Gay Audience and the Media,” and individual pa­ pers written by and about communication no­ taries such as Sherry Turkle, Marshall McCluhan, and Jo h n D ecem ber. Th e U .K .-focu sed re­ sources can be found mainly under television, radio, and newspapers. Although there is no cross-referencing b e­ tween subject categories, the focused researcher will find navigation easy through the site. The currency o f the site is monitored by the Web Robot at Net Mind, and at the end o f each sub­ ject category there is an option to send your e-mail address when that page is updated. All in all, MCS is an essential first stop in begin­ ning a review o f the communications cyber lit­ erature.— M a rie M on teag u d o, W illiam P aterson College; o a s isn et@ co n cen tric.n et. ■ http://cedr.lbl.gov/cdrom/doc/lookup http://www.aber mailto:oasisnet@concentric.net J a n u a r y 1 9 9 7 / 2 9