Category: access

copyright renewal tool – cites and insights

Posted on by jessamyn

Go get the latest Cites and Insights. In it you will find many wonderful things including good reporting on the INDUCE Act, some thoughts on “dead media” and this nifty tool to at least help you ascertain whether US copyright has been renewed for a book or not.

This form searches the U. S. copyright renewal records. Any book published during the years 1923-1963 which is found in this file is still under copyright, as are all books published after 1964 (although until 1989 they still had to have proper notice and registration). Books published before 1923, or before Jan. 1, 1964 and not renewed, are out of copyright. This file does not contain listings for music, movies, or periodicals.

more on the doj document destruction request flap

Posted on by jessamyn

Here’s a summary of events surrounding the Department of Justice’s order to destroy government repository documents, and their subsequent rescinding of that order. I’m happy to note that my Senator who is the ranking Senator on the Judiciary Committee is one of the co-signers on a letter [pdf] asking Ashcroft exactly what the DoJ was up to.

We seek clarification of your initial destruction request because it defies logic that federal statutes could be considered solely internal to the Department’s deliberations and not useful for any other purpose.

smartfilter not so smart

Posted on by jessamyn

Cardiff libraries [in Wales, in the UK] finds that patrons can not get to the web page for the city’s Mardi Gras event because SmartFilter — the same filter mandated in all of Georgia’s schools and libraries — thinks that the site is pornography. The site URL does have the word “gay” in it, though the page itself is completely family friendly. Librarian.net is characterized as “politics/opinion” by the newer SmartFilter and “politics/religion” by the older version. Check your own URL. [infothought]