Anatomy of a New Copyright Librarian

Abstract

My journey to working with copyright at the Michigan State University (MSU) Libraries began with images for medical education. I was Coordinator for Health Sciences at the Libraries, during which time instructors creating a new online curriculum asked for clear guidance on images they could include. Over a period of years, I negotiated licenses with major medical publishers to allow image use from our subscription resources for this purpose. Through this project, I grew my expertise and knowledge about copyright issues, which gave me confidence to propose taking on the part-time copyright librarian position when the existing copyright librarian retired. I’m now in the position and enjoy collaborating with people across the MSU Libraries and across subject areas to promote understanding of copyright for teaching, learning, and scholarship.