The introduction of open educational resources (OER) provides new opportunities for learners worldwide to access high-quality educational materials at the lowest cost. As a developing country, Vietnam is one of the countries that can most benefit from the OER movement. However, the concept of OER in Vietnam remains little known to the public, with…

The ebook ecosystem has experienced many changes recently--having both positive and negative effects for the school library. On the positive side, many publishers have stopped seeing ebooks as the coming of the Apocalypse; instead, they are seeing that the publishing business survives and, indeed, flourishes. The different actors in this arena are…

This article examines the legal and policy complexities involved with students who are self-selecting into haven charter schools. Haven charter schools are those that intend to create a safe place for students with complex histories who may have been intimidated by a dominant group in their former schools. For the purpose of this study, haven…

This article argues that accessibility and universality are essential to good Web design. A brief review of library science literature sets the issue of Web accessibility in context. The bulk of the article explains the design philosophies of progressive enhancement and responsive Web design, and summarizes recent updates to WCAG 2.0, HTML5, CSS…

Intellectual pursuit and the recognition of ideas is a central concept. Copyrights protect the rights of intellectual creators while balancing those rights with the needs for access. As technologies have expanded, and production has become more sophisticated, the legal regulations surrounding their use have become more complex. With the advent of…

Since the early 1990s, Carl Malamud has made it his business to return to the public what is rightfully theirs: free access to public information. Despite legislation that mandates such access to government information, some categories of information have been excluded, notable among them court opinions (with the exception of the U.S. Supreme…

Purpose: This paper aims to provide information about various digital initiatives in libraries in Thailand and especially use of Dublin Core metadata in cataloguing digitized objects in academic and government digital databases. Design/methodology/approach: The author began researching metadata use in Thailand in 2003 and 2004 while on sabbatical…

The purpose of traditional copyright law was to encourage the creation of works based on and to ensure reasonable access to original thought. Despite this harmonious intent, an intrinsic tension exists between libraries and copyright holders, as the former promotes "free" access to information that ultimately reduces the income of the…

Focuses on the economic, social, and legal aspects of copyright issues that need to be addressed by rightsholders and users in a computer networked environment. The Electronic Copyright Management System, a project that demonstrates procedures for handling copyright works, is described. Key sections of the copyright law are reviewed. (Contains six…

Discusses the concept of Earth's Largest Library (ELL), a mega-virtual library based on the Amazon.com model. Topics include who will be included; privacy; censorship; scope of the collection; costs; legal aspects; collection development; personnel management; access; the concept of community; public service; lending policies; technical…

The increasing popularity of digital information has brought great convenience to library patrons. It has, however, posed challenges to libraries in achieving their major missions, i.e., preservation and dissemination of information. The underlying reasons for this phenomenon are dichotomous: the restrictions imposed by electronic information…

Introduces the Institute for Scientific Information's (ISI) electronic library project, and discusses the project's technological, economic, and legal issues. Describes computer system requirements that allow ISI's electronic library prototype to provide users with bibliographic information, abstracts, and full images of journals. (JMV)