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----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Here is the VRA statement about why they haven't endorsed the VRA CONFU guidelines for digital images. Maryly Snow Forwarded message: > From [log in to unmask] Fri Nov 22 12:27:28 1996 > MIME-version: 1.0 > X-Mailer: Mozilla 1.1N (Macintosh; I; 68K) > Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit > X-URL: http://132.162.180.76/list.html > Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 20:23:26 +0400 > Reply-To: Visual Resources Association <[log in to unmask]> > Sender: Visual Resources Association <[log in to unmask]> > From: Joseph Romano <[log in to unmask]> > Organization: Visual Resources Association > Subject: CONFU Guidelines Position Statement > To: Multiple recipients of list VRA-L <[log in to unmask]> > > VRA Position Statement on the CONFU Guidelines for Digital Image > > The Visual Resources Association has participated in t > on Fair Use since the conference was convened by the National > Information Infrastructure (NII) Task Force. Sandra Walker, VRA Past > President, issued a statement at the public hearings held on September > 22, 1994 at the Library of Congress. Since 1994, the VRA has been > represented at all of the meetings of the Digital Images Working Group. > Our representatives, Kathe Albrecht and Macie Hall, have worked very > hard to educate the working group participants regarding the needs and > methods of our members. > > The VRA constituency is made up primarily of visual re > professionals employed in non-profit educational institutions. In many > ways, the proposed guidelines represent an unprecedented attempt to deal > with the complexities of copyright and fair use within the context of > our profession. The VRA remains hopeful that in time such guidelines > can be endorsed. However, the executive board of the VRA believes that > to make a decision regarding the endorsement of these particular > guidelines at this time would be premature. > > Many of our members have expressed compelling reasons > endorsing these guidelines. Some of these reasons deal with particulars > that are perhaps negotiable. But what is most disturbing is that the > CONFU Guidelines for Digital Images place the burden of clearing the > rights to images entirely on the users. The methods described for > clearing these rights are not just inconvenient, but completely > unworkable. Our profession, for the most part, is charged with > providing educators with surrogate images. Although it is our practice > to document the sources for all the images we use, copyright claims to > surrogate images often extend beyond such documentation, and so are > ultimately beyond our control. There is nothing resembling a "copyright > clearance center" for images. Also, none of the other guidelines > presume to place a deadline on usage of materials or instruct the > librarian (or visual resources professional) as to the procedures to be > followed to obtain permissions. > > These guidelines could be very useful if the process f > rights to surrogate images did not place such strains on the staffs and > working budgets of visual resources curators. Unless visual librarians > can digitize their collections under fair use without complicated and > cumbersome restrictions, many digitization projects will more than > likely be abandoned. One of the major purposes of these guidelines was > to enable educators to use digital images in the classroom. It would > indeed be a shame if the outcome of such guidelines had the opposite > effect. > > Joseph Romano > VRA President > Oberlin College > [log in to unmask] >