Is It a Fair Use? Celebrating Fair Use Week to Promote Critical Thinking about Copyrights

Abstract

Have you ever been asked, “Can I use this?” in reference to an article, book, image, or other copyrightable work intended for a course, publication, or professional training? This lightning talk presents one university library’s Fair Use Week celebration that built in training opportunities and self-directed learning tools to address such questions. Learn about one public university library’s experience celebrating Fair Use Week 2016. The celebration focused on engaging ourselves, students, staff, faculty, and the public in critical thinking activities related to U.S. copyrights and fair use. This lightning talk provides a five-minute summary of the highlights, lessons learned, and event components: an exhibit, programming, and accompanying materials. A link to an online event toolkit, openly licensed (CC BY 4.0), with files and information is included in the final slide for further exploration by interested parties. The toolkit includes editable files and example PDFs for items such as: publicity flyer; handouts; exhibit panel design files and photos; program descriptions and materials; and example budget, equipment listing, and timeline.