Legalities and Ethics….
Whilst engaging in the readings on the copyright laws that govern Librarians in the Education sector, I began feeling a sense of unease.
Copyright in Australia is governed by the Commonwealth Government’s Copyright Act 1968 (last amended in July 2016). This law does not contain the ‘fair use’ provision which means educators need to be careful in their use and distribution of resources. There are additional (paid) licences, which allow for some provisions but the rules are many and varied… not to mention ‘word-heavy’.
I believe a Teacher Librarian (TL) or any educator within a school has the best intention when utilising resources for their students and so question the all the governing restrictions. It makes an educator nervous of braking a law and therefor I believe hesitant in using resources.
Although the website Smartcopying: the official guide to copyright issues for Australian schools and TAFE that is provided has comprehensive information, the wording is very ‘legalised’ in nature and still leaves me hesitant in being confident I am not breaking a law in the way in which I provide my students certain information.
Copyright Act (1968). Retrieved from https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00741
National Copyright Unit (2016). Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/