Copyright Law for Librarians and Educators, now in its third edition, is a complete revision of the original published in 2000.1 Dr. Crews includes more recent case law and presents a fresh perspective on many of the copyright issues librarians and educators encounter daily. The book contains eighteen chapters divided into five broad areas of copyright: “The Reach of Copyright,” “Right of Ownership,” “Fair Use,” “Focus on Education and Libraries,” and “Special Features.” The chapters are focused, well structured, and emphasize key points, pertinent examples, and useful strategies. The structure of the book lends itself well to desktop reference. A reader can easily locate a topic of interest and quickly review it. Any needed reference to the law or other resources are provided in the text. This feature can be quite useful when dealing with faculty questions requiring quick resolution.

This book will provide a basic understanding of copyright and the key exceptions in the law for education and libraries, and a practical understanding of fair use and related court interpretations. Readers will be able to navigate through the complexities of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and be able to construct useful strategies to deal with the most common copyright issues encountered by librarians and educators.²

The book begins with multiple scenarios that depict common classroom occurrences. One example features an English literature instructor who assigns Pride and Prejudice to her class. To give her students a differing perspective on the novel, she wants to show a recent film version of the book to her class using a course management system. After concluding that such a showing is allowable within fair use guidelines of the TEACH Act, however, the instructor discovers that the DVD’s copy protection prevents her making available clips of the movie.³ Using this scenario, Crews systematically examines questions related to the inherent copyright issues, including whether one can use software to bypass copy-protected media in cases where a fair use judgment is reached. These questions and others are discussed in depth in the remaining chapters of the book.

The book is structured as follows: Part 1 discusses changing needs and copyright solutions as well as the scope of protected works. Works without copyright protection also are discussed. Part 2 explores the duration and formalities of copyright. Who owns copyright and the rights of ownership are examined as well as exceptions to the rights of ownership. Part 3 is dedicated exclusively to fair use. Detailed attention is given to understanding and applying the four factors of fair use as well a discussion of the meaning and intent of the fair use guidelines. Part 4 provides specific focus on education and libraries. Distance education and the TEACH Act are examined, as are the special provisions granted to libraries in Section 108 of the copyright law. Part 4 also examines the legal risks of violating copyright and looks at how educators and librarians can minimize their legal liabilities. Part 5 looks at other more specialized areas of copyright, such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and unpublished works. Special attention is given to how to request permission to use a copyrighted work, including how to identify the owner and advice on drafting a request. An appendix also is provided containing selected provisions of the U.S. Copyright Act and some useful check lists.

The book is thorough and concise. Its one minor flaw is that it lacks a needed discussion of the origin and intent of copyright in the United States. As copyright has evolved in this county, the law has lost sight of the original intent of public benefit. This discussion is necessary for a complete understanding of copyright, particularly in light of rapidly advancing technologies.

Receiving this book for review came at an opportune time for me. I am beginning the design of a copyright workshop to be offered to graduate students as they prepare to write their thesis or dissertation. I was so impressed with the breadth of content and organization of the book that I plan to employ it as the key text for the workshops. I have already used it as a handy reference in dealing with faculty questions, and I am working on plans to provide copies of the book to each academic department on campus.