Gosh where did the spring semester go??
While you've been out sunning yourself or working hard at your summer job, we've been here making changes to improve the Music Library!
Here are some things we've been working on:
*USC's library catalog has a new look! We hope you'll find it more user friendly.
*The Music Library home page also has a new look. We've given you easier access to the best research databases for music, added a "New" box to keep you up-to-date, and also added a suggestion box. Feel free to leave us a comment!
*We've added a video tour of the Music Library.
*Our student workers are currently busy cleaning, scanning, organizing, digitizing and updating lots of things around the library.
We're all working hard to give you the best Music Library possible!!
Please have a wonderful and safe summer!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Changes
It's that time of year....birds chirping, flowers blooming, and campus starts perking up with the changes that come with spring and summer.
Speaking of changes, we've made some changes to the Music Library Homepage. We've added a suggestion box because we want to hear from you! It only takes a minute, and your input will help us improve the library.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Speaking of changes, we've made some changes to the Music Library Homepage. We've added a suggestion box because we want to hear from you! It only takes a minute, and your input will help us improve the library.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Monday, February 11, 2008
How to tell that the following isn't a cd...
[Click to enlarge]
The above is a record from the catalog of an LP.
Note the date, size/rpm, and catalog number.
When looking for a compact disc, carefully read the online catalog record. If the call number is higher than 9500, or has a date earlier than 1980, it's not going to be a CD.
Compact Discs ALWAYS have the word "Compact Disc" just before the call number. For instance, "Compact Disc 3015" is the call number for the "[Percy] Grainger Plays Grainger" CD.
Note the date, size and catalog number of the item below.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Copyright Fair Use
If you haven't seen our video on copyright, it's just a few posts down. At the time we filmed it, I really couldn't find a clear example to use to talk about "fair use."
Fair use is a buzzword often used in libraries and educational settings. This buzzword is often used in a context to make copyright-questionable actions seem not so questionable. Since the actual laws are not clear, any challenges to copyright claimed as fair use must be tested on a case by case basis.
However, today I was looking at the older entries on boingboing.net. (This blog is written by six technology journalists, experts, authors, contributors and editors of major information sources such as Wired, Popular Science, MSNBC, New York Times, the Washington Post, New Scientist, Business 2.0, and so many more.)
On boingboing, they link a New York Times debate between a lawyer of NBC Universal and a professor at Columbia Law School on fair use in the 21st century.
The Lawyer's stance:
"...Fair use is not a “right,” a misconception and misstatement frequently made these days. Fair use permits use of portions of a work under limited circumstances.... Because fairness cannot be reduced to a set of bright line rules, whether a use is fair is determined on a case by case basis.... The Copyright Act sets out a four factor test (although other factors can be considered). The factors include the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the original work, the amount taken from the existing work and the importance of what is taken and the effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. Thus, as a legal matter, a case-by-case analysis remains the standard."
The Professor's take:
"... a simpler principle for fair use: work that adds to the value of the original, as opposed to substituting for the original, is fair use. In my view that’s a principle already behind the traditional lines: no one (well, nearly no one) would watch Mel Brooks’ “Spaceballs” as a substitute for “Star Wars”; a book review is no substitute for reading [a book]. They are complements to the original work, not substitutes.... Fan guides like the Harry Potter Lexicon or Lostpedia are not substitutes for reading the book or watching the show.... On the other hand, its obviously not fair use to scan a book and put it online, or distribute copyrighted films using BitTorent."
So, things still aren't 100% clear to the common person, but again, "it's better to be safe than sorry" when it comes to copyright laws.
Have a great weekend!
Fair use is a buzzword often used in libraries and educational settings. This buzzword is often used in a context to make copyright-questionable actions seem not so questionable. Since the actual laws are not clear, any challenges to copyright claimed as fair use must be tested on a case by case basis.
However, today I was looking at the older entries on boingboing.net. (This blog is written by six technology journalists, experts, authors, contributors and editors of major information sources such as Wired, Popular Science, MSNBC, New York Times, the Washington Post, New Scientist, Business 2.0, and so many more.)
On boingboing, they link a New York Times debate between a lawyer of NBC Universal and a professor at Columbia Law School on fair use in the 21st century.
The Lawyer's stance:
"...Fair use is not a “right,” a misconception and misstatement frequently made these days. Fair use permits use of portions of a work under limited circumstances.... Because fairness cannot be reduced to a set of bright line rules, whether a use is fair is determined on a case by case basis.... The Copyright Act sets out a four factor test (although other factors can be considered). The factors include the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the original work, the amount taken from the existing work and the importance of what is taken and the effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. Thus, as a legal matter, a case-by-case analysis remains the standard."
The Professor's take:
"... a simpler principle for fair use: work that adds to the value of the original, as opposed to substituting for the original, is fair use. In my view that’s a principle already behind the traditional lines: no one (well, nearly no one) would watch Mel Brooks’ “Spaceballs” as a substitute for “Star Wars”; a book review is no substitute for reading [a book]. They are complements to the original work, not substitutes.... Fan guides like the Harry Potter Lexicon or Lostpedia are not substitutes for reading the book or watching the show.... On the other hand, its obviously not fair use to scan a book and put it online, or distribute copyrighted films using BitTorent."
So, things still aren't 100% clear to the common person, but again, "it's better to be safe than sorry" when it comes to copyright laws.
Have a great weekend!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Welcome to spring semester!
Happy first day of classes!
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the nice weather.
I just wanted to check in to say we've got some exciting things in the works at the music library. I can't say much now about it, but stay tuned for more details!
:-)
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the nice weather.
I just wanted to check in to say we've got some exciting things in the works at the music library. I can't say much now about it, but stay tuned for more details!
:-)
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
New Books
I was checking out the library's new books list online, and chuckled to myself at the diversity of some of the titles we acquired in May:
In case you didn't know, you can check out this list, too. It's updated by the nice (and very busy) people over at Thomas Cooper Library, so it may not be 100% up-to-date. However, if you want a more current list, come check out the New Book shelf at the Music Library. It's on the 3rd floor, directly in front of you as you come up the stairs!
Have a wonderful fall break!
a/v girl
| L'accoglienza : | M 3 .W43 1998 |
| Solos for the alto saxophone player: | M 268 .S65 1965b |
| Bothnian rhapsody : | M 557.4 .V55 B6 2007 |
| The Beatles : | ML 421 .B4 F76 2007 |
| Metallica and philosophy : | ML 421 .M48 M47 2007 |
| Early music : | ML 457 .M4613 1986 |
| Church music in America, 1620-2000 / | ML 2911 .O43 2007 |
| In the mood | ML 3505.8 .J4272 Mar. 2007 |
| Why classical music still matters / | ML 3800 .K72 2007 |
| Golden bells for church, Sunday school and evangelistic services | M 2117 .G65 1923 |
| Palmer's theory of music: | MT 7 .P35 1876 |
In case you didn't know, you can check out this list, too. It's updated by the nice (and very busy) people over at Thomas Cooper Library, so it may not be 100% up-to-date. However, if you want a more current list, come check out the New Book shelf at the Music Library. It's on the 3rd floor, directly in front of you as you come up the stairs!
Have a wonderful fall break!
a/v girl
Monday, October 8, 2007
Copyright
As always, if you have questions or comments we'd love to hear them.
Remember--if there is an item you'd like to see in the library, be sure to leave us a comment to let us know.
Happy Monday!
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