Formulating a Scalable Approach to Patron-Requested Digitization in Archives (open access)

Formulating a Scalable Approach to Patron-Requested Digitization in Archives

This article examines how archives were forced to rethink their modes of providing access to physical collections because of the coronavirus of 2019 (COVID-19). Whereas difficult copyright questions raised by reproducing items could previously be skirted by requiring researchers to work with materials in person, the long-term closure of reading rooms and decrease in long-distance travel mean that archives need a workflow for handling user digitization requests that is scalable and requires consulting only easily identifiable information and, assuming full reproduction is off the table, reproducing items in a collection under 17 U.S.C. ยง 108 or through a strategy of rapid risk assessment. There is a challenge in creating a policy that will work across different formats and genres of archival materials, so this article offers some suggestions for how to think about these parameters according to US copyright law and calls for a committee of experts to work out a model policy that could serve remote users of archival collections even after the COVID-19 crisis has passed.
Date: June 1, 2021
Creator: Hawkins, Kevin S. & Judkins, Julie
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Library as an Essential Service (open access)

The Library as an Essential Service

This article looks at the role of the UNT Libraries as an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-at-home declaration in Denton County, Tx in the Spring of 2020.
Date: June 2020
Creator: Venner, Mary Ann
System: The UNT Digital Library
With great power comes great responsibility: Libraries & publishers providing accessible content (open access)

With great power comes great responsibility: Libraries & publishers providing accessible content

Article reporting on a panel session of the same title from the Charleston Conference 2021. The panelists revealed how their organizations implemented accessibility initiatives that provide print disabled users with greater access to online content, and the author provides an overview of their discussion.
Date: June 16, 2022
Creator: Dawson, Jill
System: The UNT Digital Library