How 'bout this to add to an Author's contract?

Our friend, Mary Minow of librarylaw.com has drafted language for author's to add to their contracts with publishers when they negotiate for digital rights.  It would be amazing if a popular author could pick this language up and run with it.
Author’s Rights To Allow Library Loans
Notwithstanding any terms or conditions to the contrary in any author agreement between Author and Publisher, Author shall retain the non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free right to authorize the loaning of digital copies of Author's work, facilitated by libraries on a one-user-at-a-time basis.

As Jamie LaRue of Douglas County writes:

"The challenge in the 21st century isn't going to be to get published. It will be to get NOTICED. That hand-selling of favorite authors, that recommending to new readers a wonderful new find, are just what libraries are about."

If any of you have relationships with authors, we'd love for you to run this language past them and see what they think.  And let us know what you think, too. 

Best Practices in Virtual Reference webinar helps you keep your lights on longer

Public, academic and special libraries alike are struggling with cuts to their hours and staff, making it more difficult to be in front of your patrons when they need you. Libraries all over are trying to figure out how to position themselves as a valuable resource when they can’t keep the lights on as long as they used to.

Join OCLC for a free webinar in the Best Practices for Virtual Reference series. This session, “Keeping the Virtual Lights on 24/7”, will focus on how being part of a cooperative group can allow you to keep your library open virtually at all hours and reach patrons whenever they might be working, even if it’s not from 9-5.

We’ll explore the challenges and benefits to working through a cooperative. Most libraries already belong to some group or consortia and expanding the ways we work together are important in this challenging economy. As with any joint venture, it helps to know what worked and what didn’t work for others before jumping in. And, if you’re already working as a group, there’s always room for improvement!

Susan McGlamery of OCLC will lead the conversation along with Rosa Caballero-Li, Manager, AskNYPL at New York Public Library, Cynthia Johnson, Head of Reference and Acting Head of the Grunigen Medical Library, University of California, Irvine, and Lynn Jones, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Moffitt Library, University of California, Berkely. We look forward to hearing from you, too!

The free webinar is open to all.

Best Practices in Virtual Reference: Keeping the Virtual Lights on 24/7

March 6, 2012

1:00pm – 2:00pm Eastern

Register here