Harris: Licensing Digital Content

In her book, Licensing Digital Content: A Practical Guide for Librarians (2009), Lesley Ellen Harris covers the important terms, issues, and steps in the process of creating a license for electronic materials in a modern library. This book is published by the American Library Association, and Ms. Harris is a copyright lawyer who has been speaking about licensing issues at conferences since 1997. The support of the largest professional library association, to me, gives the book a strong sense of credibility.

Beyond the Glossary in the back of the book, there is also more than one section that describes different terms related to licensing of databases, photographs, and other digital materials. I liked the fact that besides just describing the terms, a tip was given. For instance, in Chapter Five: Boilerplate Clauses, I learned that the Force Majeure clause will protect both you and the publisher from an act of God that interrupts service or payment (87). The tip in this section mentioned making sure that technical difficulties were not included (87). Making sure the publisher's server is functioning should be included in the license, and should not be considered a Force Majeure. If a librarian was to see this in the Force Majeure section, they could ask for an amendment to the contract. These kind of tips could prove to be very helpful to a new electronic services library working alone on dissecting or agreeing to a license.

I loved Chapter 6 on Un-Intimidating Negotiations: It shows that it is not only enough to know your stuff regarding the licensing, but you also have to develop people skills. I thought this was a very important chapter, since it is possible that the person hired for a licensing librarian position may be chosen due to their technical skills or legal know-how, and may not have previous experience in negotiating a contract. Harris comments that before her first negotiation, she was stressed and scared (93). This sense of empathy could really help a librarian reading this book.

I also liked the description of what an electronic resources librarian does in Chapter 8: Go License! at the end of the book (123-124). This list could help someone who is interested in becoming an electronic resources librarian hone their skills or prepare for a job interview. This seemed like a great addition to this book. I could almost see it being expanded in to a whole chapter in and of itself.

Overall, I was disappointed that Harris' book skims over specific technology and examples. I realize that this could be a good thing, since technology changes so fast and this could render the book obsolete in a few years, however, I feel that some of the areas could be made more clear with some case studies or clearer concepts from the real world. For this reason, I felt the book was too broad in some respects, which makes certain chapters and sections tedious, including when Harris mentions for the umpteenth time that not all licenses are created equal and that different situations call for different licenses, even in the same institution (see page 8-9).

Licensing Digital Content could be seen as a helpful handbook to be used on the job of an electronic resources librarian. I could see myself using it on the job if I didn't know what a specific term was in a license. Again, I could also see this being a great way to update yourself on terms and concepts for a job interview for a position that will deal with licensing.

The sections outlining the different sections of an agreement gave me pause, especially after reading Harris' suggestion to go through every single clause of a contract before signing. The idea of going through a whole license seems daunting to me, because normally I just agree to terms on the EULA and go on with my life. I tend to not even read the thing I'm agreeing to. This will be more important if I am representing an entire library or consortium with my signature or approval. I will definitely think about the terms and information I learned from the Harris book the next time I check the "I agree" box on a software installation.