I cliche* -titled this entry in reference to the churning world of copyright issues. It's clear from the readings and Linda's podcast that there's no end in sight to the ever-changing definition of what constitutes Fair Use. And copyright laws get violated in schools all the time. But it's almost comforting, in a way, to realize that's it's not the constantly mutating landscape of technology that's growing this unwieldy monster, it's (as usual) people.
Yes, some people will always find a way to rip off other people no matter. So that's why I say, yes, it's important to have the basics of copyright law down cold, but not just because our positions in the school library obligates us to do so. I feel it's necessary to inform students and peers about what I know through the filter of ethics and morals. That's how I'm going to combat the inevitable eyeball rolling. The ethics of the matter have existed as long as civilized society.
It's sort of analogous to why we wait at a red light at a deserted intersection in the middle of the night. What would happen if we as a society stopped following the conventions of our society? Even if we felt our actions were not immediately adversely affecting anyone. The whole system that is our society would be in jeopardy eventually. Plus, we wouldn't want to get caught!
*Ready to rename this blog The Cliche in The Library after this class -- What can I say? I just love working with themes!
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1 comment:
Great new blog name!
But, what if we were to simply say, "I can't stand it anymore and I won't abide by these outdated copyright laws" what would happen? Would the world collapse? Or might we get to someplace where both the user and the "owner" were satisfied? I think that's where we are headed. It's not owner vs. user but owner and user both getting what works for them.
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