Re: Policies on Public Performance Rights (3 additional responses)

From: <acqnet-l_at_lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:52:28 -0700 (PDT)
To: acqnet-l <acqnet-l_at_lists.ibiblio.org>

1) ----- 

From: "Gerdes, Catherine A" <cagerdes_at_email.unc.edu> 
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2012 18:56:40 +0000 

Here is a response I received from our Head of Media Resources Center at UNC Chapel Hill when I asked her if she had any information she could contribute to this discussion. I hope this is helpful. 


This is an issue that keeps coming up every so often. It pops up on listservs and in discussions with other Media Librarians sometime every year… 

>From what I've heard, folks seem to address it in a few different ways to varied success. Some smaller institutions with collections much, much smaller than ours have opted to list a note in their catalog along the lines of- licensing agreement on file- . Some have tried to push out lists of films with limited performance rights. In both these cases, the consensus was that patrons were still confused on whether or not they could use the film for their event and what the parameters were. Others manage internal lists and choose to work directly with the students and faculty to find eligible materials. 

We have chosen to manage our lists internally (via the spreadsheets I maintain) and work directly with the patrons to help them find appropriate material to screen at their events. This ends up being a great outreach tool and helps us engage effectively with student groups and faculty outside of the classroom. It also helps us promote use of the films for which we're having to pay an "institutional rate" - that typically allows for limited campus performances that are free and open to the campus community. 

The MRC supports dozens of programs and screenings for faculty and student events on campus each semester. We always observe the limited rights that convey with our films and only offer up the films for which we do have these rights. When I get a request via chat, email or across the desk - I respond to them with an email giving them a link to a sample of films for which we have rights related to their subject of interest. 

When a student or faculty member persists on a specific film they want to show - that we don't have the rights for - I'll do my best to connect them with the rights holder, so they can negotiate a screening with them directly (this usually includes a performance fee the student or faculty group will have to pay). 

So, either way - we're doing our best to help them. 

------------------------------- 
I've also found that managing the lists works better for us because the "institutional rights" can differ pretty broadly between vendors. Trying to post a blanket policy or throw up a blanket statement would not work. Also, we don't purchase every documentary or educational film at an institutional rate. Some documentaries are purchased via Amazon or another distributor where the sale is intended for personal use / individual checkout or classroom use only. For these films, we would never be able to offer any kind of performance outside of the classroom - because we hold absolutely no rights to display those publicly. 
--------------------------------- 


Catherine Gerdes, CPA 
Asst. University Librarian for Financial Planning and Administrative Services 
UNC Chapel Hill University Library 
PO BOX 8890 
Davis Library, CB#3904 
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-8890 
(W) 919-962-1255 
(F) 919-843-8936 
cagerdes_at_email.unc.edu 


2) ----- 

From: Roberta Schwartz <rschwart_at_bowdoin.edu> 
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2012 18:41:14 +0000 

We dealt with this issue a couple of years ago. Being that there are only a handful of DVD's that come in with public performance rights each year, we have entered the following note in all of our public display records: 

NO Public Performing Rights purchased; home or classroom use ONLY. 

I hope this helps, 
Roberta 

---------------------------- 
Roberta B. Schwartz 
Technical Services Manager 
Bowdoin College Library 
3000 College Station 
Brunswick, ME 04011-8421 
rschwart_at_bowdoin.edu 
207.725.3134 Voice 
207.798.4398 Fax 
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3) ----- 

From: gelleska_at_FARMINGDALE.EDU 
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:01:10 -0400 

It seems like paying for that “educational” or “institutional” copy is NOT required according to the ALA fact sheet. 

“Are libraries required to purchase videos or DVDs at the higher institutional price? No. Vendors or publishers often use tiered pricing, but the library does not have to pay the higher fee unless it is getting something in return (discounted replacement copies, etc.) Many libraries by their own choice pay the institutional price for ethical reasons, recognizing that many people will use the video and a higher fee may be warranted.” 

Thoughts? In fact, many of the titles we have bought get relatively little use outside of the classroom, and sometimes the institutional price is many times that of the home use price. 

Karen Gelles 
Greenley Library 
Farmingdale State College 



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Received on Fri Sep 14 2012 - 16:54:39 EDT