Happy Birthday, U.S. Copyright

In today's issue (May 31, 2011) of the Roanoke Times, I noticed an interesting tidbit in the Odds & Ends section.  According to this page, George Washington signed into law the first U.S. Copyright Act on May 31, 1790.  Of course, I verified this through Wikipedia, and then got to thinking about how copyright affects students, researchers, faculty, and many other components at a large research university.  Much has changed within U.S. copyright law since 1790, especially in the wake of the digitization of information!  Since 1790, U.S. copyright law has gone through several iterations, the most recent of which created the Copyright Act of 1976.  Recent updates to this Act have included the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and the Teaching, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH), all of which affect instructors, students, and researchers at a large university like Virginia Tech.

At University Libraries, we get regular questions about copyright, so I thought today would be a good day to go over a few copyright basics and point you to some library resources that may help you understand everyone's rights a little bit better.

Copyright Basics

• Copyright gives the owner of a copyright six exclusive rights.  You can read about those here, on the website for the United States Copyright Office
• Copyright, for most works, now lasts for the lifetime of the author + 70 years.  They then pass into the public domain.  Use this chart from Lolly Gasaway to help you figure out when that might be for a particular work!  
• Government documents are completely within the public domain--they are not under copyright protection
• Copyright protection begins the moment that the work exists--no one needs to register anything for copyright protection
• Several categories of material (such as ideas, names, methods, procedures, etc.) cannot be protected under copyright
• Copyright limitations do exist...

Copyright Limitations

As people at a large research university, we are all probably aware (at least vaguely) of various limitations to copyright, and how that might benefit us.  A few of these limitations include:

• Fair Use
• The TEACH Act
• First Sale Doctrine (the piece of copyright law allowing libraries to lend books!)
• Personal Copies

Students and faculty will often use the principle of Fair Use or rely on the TEACH Act to justify using copyrighted material.  Click on the links above and read more about each of these limitations to read about what these really entail.

Here at University Libraries, we have a lot of valuable resources related to helping you understand your rights within copyright law.  We have an entire page devoted to copyright:  http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/copyright/.  On this page, we focus on helping you understand what you can and can't do, and also how you can keep the copyright to your own work, if you are publishing an article or other resource with a publisher!  One of my favorite tools on this page include the Fair Use Analyzer, a form designed to assist you deciding whether or not your use of copyrighted material is "fair" or not.  Similarly, our pages tailored to needs of Instructors and Scholars/Researchers really help different users figure out how copyright law and protection applies to them.

As always, don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions about what may or may not be legal (or ethical).  And, Happy Birthday, U.S. Copyright!  

Tutorial: Helping Zotero & EndNote Coexist on your Computer

I haven't posted a tutorial in awhile here, and I've been getting the same question so frequently lately that I thought I would address it through a tutorial!

A lot of us use EndNote, but some of us (myself included) use both EndNote AND Zotero.  If you're in that camp, you may have noticed that directly exporting references from databases can cause issues when you have both Zotero and EndNote on your computer.  I discovered this while teaching a class on EndNote this semester:  I wanted to show the class how easy it is to export citations from Academic Search Complete (an Ebsco database) into EndNote.  I clicked on the "export" button in ASC, but Zotero snapped up the citation before EndNote even opened.  What happened?!

Well, it turns out that Zotero is programmed to immediately grab any RIS files (which is what these databases export), not even giving EndNote the chance to see the files.  There are a couple of workarounds for this:  (1) using Internet Explorer or Google Chrome when you want to use EndNote (since Zotero only works with Firefox) or (2) turning off the setting in Zotero that makes it automatically grab the citations.  I prefer the latter option, and will show you how to do this (should be the same on Mac and PC).  In the example below, I am using Addison (the library catalog) to demonstrate how this works.  The tutorial is silent, so no need to turn up the audio!



Still have questions? As always, just let me know!

Citation Fox

I can't believe it's been a week since my last post here!  Over the course of the past week, I've been involved with internal summer workshops, here at the library, and Camp QEP for all of the Pathways to Success courses that will be starting up in the fall.  The two overlapping workshop schedules haven't left much time for blogging, but I did come across an interesting resource that I wanted to share with you all:  Citation Fox!

Unlike bibliographic managers that organize and create bibliographic references for you (like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley), Citation Fox merely provides examples of citations for the MLA and APA formats, along with special notes about each example.  However, the beauty of this resource lies in its depth:  Citation Fox gives examples for over 500 different types of resources for these two formats.  It's still in Beta, and will probably grow quite a bit soon, but I'm already finding that I'm using it to double check citations.

Take a look and see for yourself:  http://library.albany.edu/cfox

Announcements of New Services, Reminders of Old...

Yesterday I promised that today I would update you all on new services that we're just rolling out as the summer gets started.  We do have several new resources/services that I want to emphasize, but I'm also going to point out a few older services and remind you of a few other things....  We'll start with the new services!

Screenshot of Summon, the new library search engine

We've just implemented Summon, a new kind of search engine/library catalog/database all rolled into one!  It's essentially a search engine for library materials, and I will be spending quite a lot of time on this blog in late summer/early fall discussing ways to use it.  I'll also be offering a lot of demonstrations/instruction sessions on this new product, so stay tuned for that.  For now, let me just say that overall, I am a fan of the product, and that I think it has a lot of potential for helping researchers find information quickly!  MUCH more on this later.

Next, we did start quite a few new database subscriptions late in the spring semester:

• Ebrary Medical Collection
• Biography in Context
• GREENR (read my post about it)
• International Studies Encyclopedia
• American History Streaming Video
• African American Study Center

Many of these databases are interdisciplinary; even though you may not be able to see the direct relevance to what you may be researching, check them out and see what they may have to offer you!

Now, a few reminders and other information.  If you're a recent graduate, you may be wondering about library access.  Check out our announcement on library access after graduation.  If your questions aren't answered here, then, as always, please don't hesitate to contact me.

If you're a faculty member visiting another university for the semester, remember that there is a reciprocal borrowing card available to you.  

Looking back...

It hasn't even been a full week since graduation, and already University Libraries has new products and services that we've rolled out.  I'll devote an entire blog post to these tomorrow!  For today, though, I wanted to highlight a few of the "top items" from the 2010-2011 school year.  You may have already seen this posted on the University Libraries News Feed, but I wanted to share them again here.

• Top 10 downloaded electronic theses and dissertations
• Top 15 CDs checked out of Newman Library
• Top 25 DVDs checked out of Newman Library
• Top 10 books checked out of Newman Library
• Top 20 Addison searches
• Top 10 databases used

I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised that the number one most frequently checked out book was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, rather than something lighter!  Also, what do you think it says about Virginia Tech students that the two most checked out DVDs were Battlestar Gallactica and Star Trek, the next generation?

A huge thanks to Robert Sebek, our amazing webmaster here at University Libraries, who uses Google Analytics to track all of these statistics and compiles these interesting reports.  

Stay tuned for information about new services and products in a blog post tomorrow!  

Coming Soon: Modernist Cuisine

Yesterday, I blogged about the growth and popularity of culinary collections in libraries.  Today, I'm going to tell you about a new addition to OUR culinary collection:  Modernist Cuisine:  The Art and Science of Cooking.

The media attention devoted to this ($625!) book when it first came out earlier this year was so successful that the book actually sold out of its first run, and is now back in press for a second printing.  The New York Times, NPR, the Washington Post, and many other media outlets reviewed the book, calling it "the future of food," a "scientific approach to food," and a number of other interesting descriptors.

Earlyword.com, a publishing website, just wrote a post on why so few libraries are purchasing this item, given its recent popularity.  Apparently, most libraries balk at the $625 price tag, and fear investing so much in a physical cookbook.  However, as the beginning of this post suggests, University Libraries at Virginia Tech just ordered this item!  It will live in Special Collections (and therefore be library use only), but it will be available as a resource for students, faculty, and staff here!

Be sure to check back and visit Special Collections when it arrives--this is one book you'll want to see!

Around the Web: Food Libraries

Not too long ago, if you had mentioned "food in libraries" to a librarian, you would have gotten an earful about restrictive building policies and how people eating in the library is a preservation issue for many library collections.  Recently, though, food in libraries has become a much bigger deal--on the collection end!

Food libraries, or library collections focusing on various aspects of food, have begun to emerge in response to the growing popularity of food-related scholarship.  The articles and posts below demonstrate this growing popularity, and the growing interest in library collections built around cookbooks, food history, pamphlets, and similar resources:

Image from VT ImageBase

• With Latest Donation, NYU Food Library Joins Big Leagues (New York Times)
• Fales Library a Haven for Students Craving International Culinary History (NYU)
• Culinary Archive Donated to University (Ann Arbor Chronicle)
• Culinary History at the New York Public Library (NYPL)
• Culinary Exhibits Online:  Food in the Library (University of Pennsylvania)
• Cornell:  300 Books Enrich Library's Collection (Cornell Chronicle)
• New Scholarship Anticipated in American Culinary History (University of Michigan)
• Cookery in Academia:  Culinary Collections in Libraries Grow Up, and Out (ACRL)

Of course, we here at Virginia Tech also have a special Culinary History Collection....  This has become a hot topic, and I am guessing that we'll see many more stories about these sorts of collections growing in libraries.  

End of Semester Reminders

Hope everyone is doing well, or maybe already finished, with exams!  Before you leave Blacksburg for the summer, just a few reminders from the library.

First of all, remember that our hours are changing a lot over the next couple of weeks.  View our extended hours during exams, and our hours for the rest of May.  Summer 2011 hours will be posted asap.

Next, remember to turn in any outstanding books or other items!  Information about checking your account, paying fines, and other details can be found in a recent library news release.

Finally, remember that there are many ways to keep in touch with or contact a librarian during the summer.  Use our Ask-a-Librarian service to email, IM, text, or call a librarian.  Similarly, be sure to keep checking this blog over the summer--I'll be posting updates and information all summer long!  Use an RSS reader, like Google Reader, to get posts from all types of blogs delivered directly to whatever device you use.

Have a great summer, congratulations to all you graduates, and keep in touch!

Free Greenberry's Coffee!! Tonight!

I don't know if you've heard the rumors, but I can now confirm that they are true:  Greenberry's will be providing free coffee for exams!

On the evenings of May 5 (tonight!), 6, 8, 9, and 10, Greenberry's will be donating free coffee to students studying in the library.  The coffee, along with hot chocolate and tea provided by the Library Marketing Committee, will be available in the 2nd floor Learning Commons (right beside the 2nd floor Reference Desk).

You can read more about it here, in the official library news release, but take it from me:  this is is one giveaway that you don't want to miss!  See you in the library!

Last HNFE Librarian Office Hours of the Semester!

I am writing this post from the Wallace Hall Atrium, where I am holding my very last HNFE Librarian Office Hours of the semester!

The idea of holding HNFE Librarian Office Hours in Wallace Hall was something new for the 2010-11 school year, and I think that it was a success!  Just during the Spring semester, I met with 18 students and faculty members in Wallace Hall during HNFE Librarian Office Hours.

Since it seems to be so convenient for HNFE students and faculty, HNFE Librarian Office Hours in Wallace Hall will definitely continue during the 2011-12 school year.

Happy National Physical Education and Sports Week!

I learned today, via the IFIC Nutrition Blog, that this week is National Physical Education and Sports Week!  The IFIC blog post has lots of ideas for increasing and enhancing physical activity, but what if you wanted to find some more scholarly resources on physical activity?  Allow me to recommend a few websites, databases, and journals for more information...

Websites

• Healthfinder.gov
• Kidshealth
• HealthyPeople.gov
• CDC:  Physical Activity & Health
• SportsMedia
• SPARK Physical Education
• Statistics in Sports

Library databases

• Physical Education Index
• CINAHL
• PubMed
• Web of Science

Journals

• ICHPER-SD Journal of Research in Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport, and Dance
• Journal of Sport and Social Issues
• Journal of Sports Sciences
• Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport

Need more information?  Visit the Sport, Fitness, Health and Physical Education Subject Guide!

New Database: GREENR

University Libraries has acquired subscriptions to several new databases, including GREENR:  General Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources (from Gale).  This database focuses on the physical, social, and economic aspects of environmental issues.  Researchers can search by topic, country, or organization portals; issues cover energy systems, health care, agriculture, climate change, population, and economic development.

Resources in this database include academic journals, case studies, authoritative analysis, legislation, conference proceedings, primary source documents, statistics, and multimedia resources.  Resources cover information going back as far as 1864, continuing through the present.

Check it out:  http://dsp.lib.vt.edu/dsp/index.php?action=ViewDatabase&did=5062