Licensing and Copyright

Librarians cannot play an active role if they do not fully understand the significance of open licensing to their work. This overview explains the pertinence of open licensing and the OER Recommendation, providing examples on ways in which the Recommendation can be used by librarians.

Restrictive copyrights can limit how likely reading resources are to be used, shared or repurposed, which significantly diminishes the potential impact of the materials.  Donors and international organizations are increasingly investing in open educational resources, as they are interested in ensuring that educational materials reach the greatest possible number of learners, and that broad access to those materials is not compromised at the con

This is the fourth module in the Digital Fluency course for academics. In this module learners will be introduced to issues related to academic integrity, which has become a matter of increasing concern in the digital age. Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has been widely embraced, and much information and many resources are readily accessible through the internet. However, these available resources may be licensed or copyrighted in a variety of ways, and adhering to this may cause challenges in ensuring academic integrity in higher education.

This module aims to expand an understanding of digital storage and access with regard to a variety of files types and enabling platforms. It will hone skills in storing and retrieving digital resources using various technologies. This module is intended to address both academic and administrative skills: these skills can be applied in research, teaching and learning, and administration.

This module is aimed at providing the learner with basic guidance on OER, including underlying concepts, and encouraging practical use of OER. The first topic covers the basic definition of OER, their forms and repositories. Topic two introduces the learner to OER licensing, particularly Creative Commons licences (CC). The third topic covers ways that OER can be adapted and produced. Topic four highlights the importance of an institutional OER policy and its associated formulation considerations.      

 Federal agencies are increasingly using open licensing to expand the impact and reach of their work, enable innovative use of federally-funded materials, and ensure that publicly funded resources are available to the public. We note shared practices and consideration s, common to the federal open licensing efforts thus far. This Playbook provides a practitioner's guide to using open licenses in the federal context, based on the shared experience.

The Impact of Open Licensing on the Early Reader Ecosystem examines how to use open licensing to promote quality learning resources for young children that are relevant and interesting. Research in early reading tends to focus on traditional publishing value and supply chains, without taking much consideration of new approaches and solutions emerging from the digitization of content and the impact of open licences. Production innovations considered include content creation models, storybook management and storage, and printing and distribution.

Using Schatzki’s practices framework as a lens, this paper reports on the practices of university students accessing learning resources at a research-intensive  university in South Africa. Using a mixed methods approach, 1001 survey responses and six focus groups were analysed to explore how students in three professional disciplines access learning resources, with the focus on digitally-mediated piracy practices. The findings suggest a blurring between the legal and the illegal and indicate the normalcy of piracy practices, with nuanced distinctions and understandings manifest. 

This guide will enable academics to make informed and purposeful decisions about licensing their work openly.