Extending access to online resources - Survey deadline this Wednesday

Last few days to fill in a survey released by JISC Collections concerning the extension of access to online resources for non-traditional user groups that are not currently provided for within the JISC Model Licence.
This project is called the Additional Authorised User Initiative (AAUI). The AAUI is designed to meet the wider access requirements generated by new user groups by providing a new framework for negotiating and licensing online resources. It is intended that the framework will enable institutions and the publishers who supply them to manage this extended access in an orderly and legally robust manner.

The survey is being conducted in order to:

i. gain feedback on whether or not you are aware of the AAUI
ii. determine whether the Additional Authorised User Licences currently
meet your needs
iii. obtain help in widening access to new user groups

If you would like to take part in the survey, please complete the online
response form by Wednesday 30th April.

Another Copyright Project - I Kant Believe It

Saw an interesting post on the popular science website PopSci.Com. In "Dead Guys Sound Off On Copyright" Matt Ransford talks about copyright as "arguably the most heated and oft-discussed topic in regard to the Internet and all that it has become. " In these days of DRM, music downloading and Creative Commons, Ransford highlights a project that is looking back through the years to find out how far we've come on this topic.

Sponsored by the AHRC, the project is called Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900). It's website offers to the public original papers that have long been archived in libraries across the world.

"Fifty core documents were chosen each from Germany, France, and Britain, along with twenty from Italy and the United States. Each has been scanned, transcribed, translated, and annotated with related documents. Many of the great minds of the past 500 years are represented: Machiavelli, Luther, Kant, Locke, Balzac, and Hugo, for example."

You can find more information and gain access the resources on the project's website.

Pop Culture meets Law

I just finished writing a DCC Legal Watch Paper on medical data sharing and privacy yesterday. Interesting then today to come across a reference to this story. Much too low brow for the Legal Watch Paper :-) but an interesting example of medical data privacy issues in practice nonetheless!

Image by We're Britney's Fans on Flickr BY-NC-SA

FOI Podcast!

For those if you that are fans of this format, you might be interested to know of the monthly podcast produced by Ibrahim Hasan. Ibrahim discusses all the latest FOI decisions and gives his personal views as to how they affect FOI practice. There are also interviews with experts and FOI stakeholders.

You can access the podcast here. You may also listen to previous podcasts or read the full transcripts.