Attendees: Edwin Wiles (OCU), Jay Ramanjulu (OCCC), Pat Williams (ODL), Gwen Dobbs, Ona Lou Britton, and Abbey Warner (UCO), Mary Evans, Lori Mardis, and Dana Belcher (ECU)

Minutes Taken by: Pat Williams

Topic: Copyright Issues

Edwin Wiles called the meeting to order and minutes of the September meeting were approved.

Edwin began the discussion on copyright. He had asked lawyers at OCU's law school to come and address the group but was unsuccessful. The law is in a state of flux and no one was prepared to speak. Copyright law is vague and has not been interpreted by the courts. There is no definition of "fair use". There are only guidelines and those have not been interpreted by the courts either. It was the general consensus that faculty are the biggest source of copyright questions. Reserves are on shaky ground. Libraries turn a "blind eye" to how reserves are handled. Add to the mix electronic reserves and it makes everything even more complex. Electronic formats often means loss of access control by the library. It makes the library/college/university liable for use by non faculty/students. How to deal with reserves is handled differently at the various schools. It was generally felt that the burden of copyright compliance should fall on the faculty submitting the reserve. But in all likelihood the library will by default have to ensure compliance. The issue of distance education and copyright was also discussed. At a recent conference on this subject, guidelines could not be created as the issues were too hotly contested or to complex to sort out. If an instructor creates a web page for a class and inserts a link to someone else's web page, is this a copyright issue? Add to the mix that copyright laws vary from country to country. The courts haven't decided yet whether to follow the copyright laws of the user or of the author. Edwin suggested that the group might want to look at the book Commonsense Copyright: A Guide for Educators and Librarians by R.S. Talab.

The rest of the meeting was spent talking about the new officers. Jay Ramanjulu has been putting together a slate of officers. Jay has agreed to be chair elect and Lori Mardis as Secretary. Ballots will be sent out and asked to be returned by December 23. Meeting adjourned at 3:45 and the group received a tour of the library.