As front line gatekeepers at the cutting edge of the digital revolution, librarians control how information is purchased, stored, and accessed. Complex laws and fast-changing practices in digital content licensing mean that every agreement starts from scratch, even as the availability of digital materials in the library increases exponentially.<P>Covering the basics of digital licensing for librarians, this one-stop guide offers a practical, plain-language approach that demystifies the process. Copyright expert Lesley Ellen Harris shows — step-by-step — what it takes to negotiate and interpret solid licensing agreements with confidence, whether you're buying rights to data for library customers or selling rights to images or information from the library's collection. Breaking the process down into steps and checklists, this user-friendly book covers all the bases including: <P>-- Three steps to negotiating a license<P>-- Three steps to creating a licensing policy<P>-- Twelve misconceptions about license agreements<P>-- Five key licensing concerns<P>-- How to negotiate like a winner<P>-- Quick starter's tips<P>Entire chapters are devoted to frequently asked questions and the lingo of licensing, and "licensing tips" throughout help you to think like a negotiator while learning the basics. A detailed road map into territory for which industry standards do not exist, this guide to the digital information access frontier is a must-have for every librarian.

Harris is a copyright, licensing, and e-commerce lawyer who writes here, in plain language, for benighted librarians who didn't quite find time to complete that law degree while in library school. She demystifies a complicated subject, covering how to negotiate a license, create a licensing policy, understand common misconceptions about license agreements, focus on key licensing concerns, and negotiate like a pro. This slim volume is user friendly and packed with information.
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