Covenant University Centre for Learning Resources

WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY

Covenant University Centre for Learning Resources

Introduction

Despite the fact that the world has fast become a global village with a strong effect of automation/digital libraries spreading into every aspect of the society,the use of print resources and books cannot be downplayed. The importance of books was birthed as a result of the need for humans to create lasting records (Rubin, 2013).

In the 3rd millennium BC, clay tablets were used in Mesopotamia for inscribing characters as books are used today; the use of these clay tablets lasted till the 19th century. Later on, papyrus was introduced for the purpose of writing in Egypt; these materials were made in form of scrolls with sheets fastened together to contain writings; then later on in China at about AD 105, there was the invention of paper. These papers were bound together in pages and referred to as books.

UNESCO defined a book as ‘a bound, non-periodical publication having 49 or more pages.’ It could also be explained as loosed sheets of paper fastened or bound together and could be either handwritten or a printed work, ruled or blank sheets. With the proliferation of books across the world, the process of transfer of information and documentation was facilitated. Literary works and other intellectual contents were transmitted through numerous media including the books. Thus all intellectual properties from various authors which are written all over the world to add to existing knowledge are protected from deliberate or unconscious act of thefts, hence the introduction of the Copyright Laws.

Copyright can simply be explained as a legal right over intellectual property created. Litman, Murray and Steiner (2005) unequivocally defined copyright as ‘a form of protection provided to authors of original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, choreographic, architectural and audiovisual works.’ Those rights include:

The right to reproduce the work
To prepare derivative works
To distribute copies
To perform the work
And to display the work publicly

These standards are not only put in place to ensure effective protection of the intellectual content of any author’s work, and curb intellectual theft, but double as a springboard for authors to create better works (Isiakpona, 2012). It is pertinent to note that copyright right extends even till about 70years after the death of the owner of the copyright; to guarantee maximum economic benefit to the successors of the author’s work (World Intellectual Property Organization).

World Book DayorWorld Book and Copyright Day(also known as InternationalDayof theBook) is an annual event that holds on 23 April, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1995 primarily to encourage reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright (Peterson, 2015). This date coincides with the death anniversaries of renowned authors- Williams Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de le Vega. However, it was noted that ‘the connection between 23 April and books was first made in 1923 by booksellers on Spain as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes (UNESCO, 2012).

The World Book and Copyright day is now being celebrated worldwide in about one hundred countries in honour of books and authors; it is also averitable platform to outline the attributes of book to change lives for the better, serve as a cherished and irreplaceable source of empowermentand a valuable source of knowledge. Every year, the World Book and Copyright day is celebrated with a major theme that could have other sub-themes depending on the current issues in different places at the time. For 2014, one of the themes was “Let us pick our books and our pens, they are our most powerful weapons” while for 2015 it is “Who Reads the Readers?” Major themes for International Day of the Book are usually derived from current trends and issues surrounding reading, publishing and copyright. Below are some current issues in the book and copyright environment:

Publishing:

The current trend is towards online publishing. With the evolution of the World Wide Web, publishers and users of academic information have been seeking more efficient ways to share, organize and archive content. However, there are some issues that have arisen with online publishing which include:

Ownership versus Access in Academic Libraries

Academic libraries have become more interested in acquiring online databases that provide access to more information resources, rather than spend their lean budgets on few hard copies. Thus, Libraries now patronize database aggregators who provide access rather than ownership privileges.

Open Access

One of the most frequently discussed subjects in academic publishing is open access. The basic assumption is that if research is based on public funding, the benefits of the research should be made available at no cost. However, publishers argue that the value added to research through peer review, editorial processes and printing should be paid for through subscription. Subsequently, publishers of subscribed journals lay claim to copyrights of articles published in their journals.

Need for Diverse Books

The diversity gap in children's books and publishing all around the world has been emphasized by researchers in recent years.However, 2014 saw it confronted with unprecedented energy. A group of authors for children and teens together assembled a virtual call to arms that is likely to influence the face of publishing for years to come in this regard. This began as a Twitter exchange on April 17, 2014, between YA authors Ellen Oh and Malinda Lo, who expressed their frustration with the lack of diversity at BookCon's May 31 event; consequently,an all-white, all-male author panel was announced for a convention for book fans to be held the following month. Lately, other kid literature fans joined to raise awareness about the dearth of people of color, people with disabilities, and transgender individuals in children's books.

WeNeedDiverseBooks (WNDB) initiative has also joined forces with the National Education Association, which made a yearlong pledge to promote diverse books and authors to its members. First Book, an organization that provides free books to ‘at-risk kids’ agreed to produce 10,000 paperback copies of selected titles to get the kids into classrooms nationwide. LJ sister publication School Library Journal has partnered with WNDB to organize and sponsor a diversity-focused event to be held in conjunction with the 2016 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Boston, a Diversity Festival to be held in summer 2016 in Washington, DC, which the group hopes will serve as "an inclusive incubator for diverse voices" and the joint development of an Education Kit for teachers, booksellers, and librarians.

Presently, WNDB has created the Walter Dean Myers Award, "The Walter," to be given to a young adult work written by an author from a diverse background. It has announced plans to support a publishing internship to advance diversity in the industry, led by award-winning author Linda Sue Park. WNDB is also spearheading a project with the Washington, DC, non-profit organization, An Open BookChildren's Literacy Foundation, to send children's authors and illustrators into schools in underserved communities(Fialkoff, 2015).

Current discourse on copyrights focuses on plagiarism and orphan works.

Plagiarism

Plagiarismis the "wrongful appropriation" and "stealing and publication" of anotherauthor’s "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions" and the representation of them as one's ownoriginal work (Wager, 2014). The University of Chicago outlines the common forms of plagiarism among persons in the academia as:

Submitting someone’s work as their own.
Taking passages from their own previous work without adding citations.
Re-writing someone’s work without properly citing sources.
Using quotations, but not citing the source.
Interweaving various sources together in the work without citing.

Citing some, but inaccurately citing the source.
Relying too heavily on other people’s work. Fails to bring original thought into the text.

not all passages that should be cited.
Melding together cited and uncited sections of the piece.
Providing proper citations, but fails to change the structure and wording of the borrowed ideas enough.

The Problem of Orphan Works

In addition, the incredibly long copyright terms that apply to all books, photographs, and sound recordings have created the problem of orphan works. Orphan works are those works that are under copyright protection, but whose owners are difficult or impossible to locate, often due to death (Brian, 2002).These publications are problematic for researchers, librarians, and the public in general. They are perceived to be inaccessible because of the risk of infringement liability that a user might incur if and when a copyright owner subsequently appears. Consequently, many works that are, in fact, abandoned byowners are withheld from public view and circulation because of uncertainty aboutthe owner and the risk of liability (Albanese, 2011).

McDermott (2012) opined that a study of orphan works in the collections of United Kingdom public sector institutions found that these works are likely to have little commercial value, but high “academic and cultural significance,” and when contacted, these difficult-to-trace rights holders often grant permission for reproduction without asking for compensation.Put another way, orphan works are essentially “locking up culture and other public sector content and preventing organizations from serving the public interest.

Library Services and Digitization Programs

Librarians looking forward to digitize print collections, either for preservation or to facilitate online access, are also grappling with the copyright monopoly. Librarians who do not have the time or resources to seek permission from publishers and authors before scanning a book in their collection cannot touch anything published after 1922. Although LibraryLaw.com provides a helpful chart directed at librarians considering digitization projects, but the overwhelming fine print below the chart speaks to the labyrinthine nature of copyright.

The current U.S. copyright legislation places obstacles in the way of librarians working in all types of libraries. While there are many ways that copyright law affects library services and collections in this digital era, three challenges are particularly pressing: the problem of ownership and licensing of digital content or collections; the librarian as de facto copyright expert; and copyright law as it relates to library digitization programs generally (William, 2010).

Conclusion and Recommendations:

From the forgoing, the World Book and Copyright day is a day that should be celebrated globally and accorded its place of great importance in human life and society especially in an academic environment. It should be a day to promote activities that revolve round reading/learning, writing, extension of goodwill and donations in the form of books and kind to schools and individuals who are academically indigent or disadvantaged. Also, it can be celebrated by organizing writing competitions on some particular genre of works such as children's booksby students and staff for a prize. More so, lectures on copyright and quality publishing can be part of the celebrations.

References:

Albanese, A. (2011) Hathi Trust Suspends its Orphan Works Release. PublishersWeekly

hathitrust-suspends-its-orphan-works-release-html

Research Service. Library of Congress summary.

Fialkoff, F. (2015) Movers and Shakers 2015 (Cover Story). Library Journal. 140 (5), p25-64.

Isiakpona, C. (2012) Undergraduate students’ perception of Copyright Infringement: A case

study of the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice.

iakpona.html

Litman, J., Murray, K. & Steiner, C. (2015) So what….. About Copyright and Trademarks.

USA: Public Knowledge. p13.

McDermott, A. J. (2012) Copyright: Regulation Out of Line with our Digital reality?

Information Technologies and Libraries 31(1) 7-20

Rubin, J.S. (2013) Summary of Rubin’s “What is the History of the History of Books?”

Available at

University of Chicago (2015) Types of Plagiarism students commit. Available at;

Wager E.(2014) Defining Responding to Plagiarism.Learned Publishing. 27 (1), p33-42.

William, C. D. (2010) “The Copyright Quagmire” Journal of academic Librarianship 36 (4) 351-353.