Resale of Digital Content

We all knew that digital content was going to change the face of retail. A recent New York court ruling may push the issue into the spotlight. Digital resale store ReDigi is fighting for the right to resell mp3s, claiming that they have a way to check copyright compliance and then remove all traces from the original owners computer.

This brings up the issue of what constitutes a material object (which is covered by first sale doctrine) and if that object has to be a physical item or not. I am leaning towards yes, the item has to be a physical object, because anything other than that and we are getting into content ownership. This is why it is legal for you to make a “back-up” copy of a CD you own, but can’t keep the copy if you sell the CD. You own the physical item, but not the content.

ReDigi is appealing. I am interested in seeing how this plays out as this could affect ebooks too.

Thoughts?

Photo Credit Tool

Google Image Search tool

How many times have you found the perfect picture to use for a blog or facebook post, yet could not find the origin of the image to give proper credit or establish copyright? I came across a great post on the American Duchess blog that gives a step-by-step tutorial to search by url in Google image. Google also has a video tutorial on searching by image here.There are four ways to search, including a browser extension you can use in Firefox or Chrome.

It is not always foolproof, but often can point you in the right direction to finding the original image source. Happy hunting!

Libraries as Community Centers

I recently came across an article “Libraries Add More to the Mix” that outlines the idea of libraries as community centers, offering speed dating, zumba classes and such. These extras are labeled as “community programming” and are directed towards getting more people into the library.

Libraries have always been considered a community center geared towards interaction and discourse, but when do they turn from “Libraries with a community room” into “Community Centers with a Library?” Most importantly, how will this change job requirements or studies in librarianship? Happily, libraries are creating positions to address the need for community outreach and the extra time needed to promote activities through online media.

The topic is not new and it is not specific to public libraries, although I find that the bulk of sources are on public libraries as a whole. Some of the items I have found to be helpful in forming an overall view on the subject are below. Click on highlighted text for items available online:

Edwards, Julie Biando, Melissa Rauseo, and Kelley Rae Unger. 2011. Community Centered. Public Libraries. 50, no. 5: 42-47.

• Supports public libraries as cultural centers that provide community services

Priddis, Marissa. 2005. The Well-Read Librarian: Libraries as Community Centers. Indiana Libraries. 24, no. 1: 54-55.

• This is an annotated bibliography with sources supporting the shift to community spaces.

Reicher, Mike. 2011. Tomes’ Time Might Be Up at Newport Beach Library. Library Administrators Digest. So. San Francisco, Ca.. 46, no. 5: 36.

• Article on the creation of a “bookless library.”

Rizzo, Joseph. 2002. Finding Your Place in the Information Age Library. New Library World. 103, no. 11-12: 457-466.

• Talks about Libraries as “place” and how academic libraries can be more aware of their place in their community

Digital Data Conservation

I have always been a big proponent of archiving and backing up important materials digitally. There are the obvious reasons, but I think subconsciously it is my way of making the data more portable because I am always manipulating the information for various projects. Today I came across an article in the New York Times called “When Data Disappears“  discussing the instability of data bits and it made me pause for a moment. Do I have old data on floppies that I should update to CD? I still have a floppy disc drive, but I was unaware that bits can “rot.”