What Canadian Archivists Know About Copyright and Where They Get Their Knowledge
Abstract
This article reports the findings of a study which investigated the sources of Canadian archivists’ knowledge of copyright and the quality of their knowledge in terms of the extent to which it is accurate and up-to-date. The study found that Canadian archivists obtain their copyright knowledge from a variety of sources, not all of which are authoritative or current; as a result, the quality of their knowledge varies greatly. Some appear to have a good understanding of copyright, others misunderstand certain aspects in ways that have consequences for access and use, or that may put the repository in a position of infringing copyright, albeit unintentionally. The article concludes with recommendations to address weaknesses in how practitioners learn about copyright and keep their knowledge current.
RÉSUMÉ
Cet article présente les résultats d’une étude qui a été menée afin de déterminer les sources du savoir des archivistes canadiens en matière du droit d’auteur et de mesurer la qualité de ces renseignements. L’étude montre que les archivistes canadiens obtiennent leurs renseignements par rapport au droit d’auteur à partir d’une variété de sources qui ne sont pas nécessairement sûres ni à jour; par conséquent, la qualité de leurs connaissances varie énormément. Certains semblent avoir une bonne connaissance du droit d’auteur tandis que d’autres comprennent mal certains aspects, ce qui peut avoir des conséquences néfastes sur l’accès et l’utilisation, ou mener un centre d’archives à ne pas respecter le droit d’auteur, quoique de façon involontaire. Cet article conclut en fournissant des recommandations pour assurer que les praticiens aient et conservent une bonne connaissance du droit d’auteur.
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