Copyright is the responsibility of all members of the school however it is the Teacher Librarians responsibility to ensure they provide information, including signage, about copyright to the school community and inform all staff and students of any changes to copyright laws (CSU, 2019, Module 4). Although Music specialist have to understand and manage the specific education licences and copyright that goes with the various forms of music, it is important that as a Teacher Librarian you keep abreast of the laws to help guide other members of the community that may wish to use music as part of their teaching, assemblies, assignments etc.
Embedding units like Music for free? (Department of Education Science and Training, 2007) which explores the legal and illegal ways of downloading music from the internet as well as examining personal actions and values and how that influences personal choices, as apart of students learning, is a great way for students to broaden their understanding of copyright as well as being responsible digital citizens. This unit could be apart of library lessons or be taught in conjunction with the English teachers.
Being able to direct the community to places where they can find music and sounds that are legal to download and use is very important as a Teacher Librarian. The sources listed in, Where to find CC licensed material, is a valuable source that can be circulated and shared amongst the community. The site offers a number of places and tools that can be used.
Exploration of the Smartcopying: The Official Guide to Copyright Issues for Australian Schools and TAFE site has opened my eyes to a whole new world.
Australian Government Department of Science and Training. (2017). Music for free? Building values across the whole school: A resource package. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/music-for-free.pdf
Charles Sturt University (CSU). (2019). Legal and ethical issues of collections. In ETL503: Topic 4.1: Copyright [Subject module]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University webiste: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_42383_1&content_id=_2636383_1
National Copyright Unit. (n.d.) Smartcopying: The official guide to copyright jssues for australian schools and TAFE. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/home
National Copyright Unit. (n.d.) Where to find CC licensed material. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/open-education/open-education-resources/where-to-find-cc-licensed-material/where-to-find-cc-licensed-music