John Vallier
Head, Distributed Media
University of Washington
Today’s music and movie industry is increasingly favoring online-only, direct-to-consumer distribution. No longer can librarians expect to collect music recordings or videos on tangible media where first sale doctrine applies. Instead, at an ever-increasing rate, librarians are discovering that music recordings, in particular, are only available via such online distribution sites as iTunes or Amazon.com. These distributors require individual purchasers to agree to restrictive end-user license agreements (EULAs) that explicitly forbid institutional ownership and such core library functions as lending: “Upon payment for Music Content, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Music Content only for your personal, non-commercial, entertainment use…” (amazon.com). What does this mean for the future of library collection? Is this only of concern to music and media librarians or are e-book distributors sure to follow this model? This session will present an overview of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded project tasked with investigating the issue; participants will be given an opportunity to offer solutions to the impasse.
http://guides.lib.washington.edu/imls2014