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The proposed Google Book Search settlement creates the opportunity for unprecedented access by the public, scholars, libraries and others to a digital library containing millions of books assembled by major research libraries. But the settlement is controversial, in large part because this access is limited in major ways: instead of being truly open, this new digital library will be controlled by a single company, Google, and a newly created Book Rights Registry consisting of representatives of authors and publishers; it will include millions of so-called "orphan works" that cannot legally be included in any competing digitization and access effort, and it will be available to readers only in the United States. It need not have been this way.

The proposed Google Book Search settlement creates the opportunity for unprecedented access by the public, scholars, libraries and others to a digital library containing millions of books assembled by major research libraries. But the settlement is controversial, in large part because this access is limited in major ways: instead of being truly open, this new digital library will be controlled by a single company, Google, and a newly created Book Rights Registry consisting of representatives of authors and publishers; it will include millions of so-called "orphan works" that cannot legally be included in any competing digitization and access effort, and it will be available to readers only in the United States. It need not have been this way.

We are starting to see objections to the Google Book Search SettlementL2 this month in advance of the May 5th deadline set up by the court. The firstL3 comes from the consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog (foundL4 by way of the American Libraries news feed). They have submitted a letter to the U.S. Justice Department asking the antitrust division to delay the settlement until the "'most favored nation' clause favoring Google is removed and the deal's 'orphan works' provision is extended to cover all who might digitize books, not only Google." The letter in PDFL5 is available on the Consumer Watchdog website. The objections revolve around the provision that require the Books Rights Registry to give Google the same terms as anyone else who enters into agreements with the Registry (noting that more favorable terms might be required by a new party in order to compete with Google) as well as the fact that the copyright infringement protection for digitizing orphan works only extends to Google.

"Overview This Flash-based tool was created by Michael Brewer and the Office for Information Technology Policy. It provides information on determining whether or not a particular reproduction or other use of a copyrighted work is covered by Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Code, the Library & Archives exemption. While the interactivity of this tool is not available to those using screen readers, such as JAWS, the following text provides all the information provided by this tool. For the fulltext of Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Code, go to: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#108. Please provide any feedback or address any questions on this tool to Michael Brewer, or to Carrie Russell at the Office for Information Technology Policy."

"Crossing the Boundaries of Ning * Posted by Badan Barman on August 22, 2010 at 2:28am in Best Practices and Lessons Learned * View Discussions I am a Library and Information Science Professional from India. I developed a Network "LIS Links : A Virtual Community of Indian LIS Professionals" (http://lislinks.com/) over Ning. I dont know whether I will be able to survive with all of you or not. But here, I would like to share something about my site. There nothing special to its design, since I am dealing with information, I gave much emphasis to content rather than the look. But I think I have included some thing special in my network. I request you all to have a look. Here are my specific points ..."

"The winners for each category, selected by an international jury of experts, will win thousands of Euros in cash prizes and ICT equipment. Also, following a successful launch in 2009, the 2010 edition will again be open to international competitors, from countries outside of Europe (see full list of eligible countries in the rules below). Another recent feature: the top 50 entries submitted will be included in the Learning Exchange Resource library (http://lreforschools.eun.org), to give increased visibility to teachers' innovative practices and encourage others to follow their lead. To be eligible for the eLearning Awards, entries must be submitted by schools or teacher training institutions in EU member states, EEA countries, EU applicant countries as well as Switzerland, Israel and Georgia. For the category International cooperation entries are accepted worldwide. A gallery on the eLearning Awards website will showcase all contributions, which will be judged by a panel of experts. Entries can be made from now until 28 September 2010 via the website: http://elearningawards.eun.org. Prize Ceremony The prize-giving ceremony, which will be followed by a gala dinner, will take place in Copenhagen early November 2010, during the annual EMINENT conference. The EMINENT conference is a unique chance to meet and discuss with European ministries of education, global companies and key stakeholders in education. Prize-winners will be given a trip to Copenhagen to attend the award ceremony. Full list of categories Rules"

Ticket to Read lets your students practice important reading skills at school, home, or the library--anywhere they can get on the web. Designed for grades K-5, users can work independently on reading skills, which frees the teacher to focus on other students. Exciting texts, continuous feedback, and opportunities to earn points for prizes makes Ticket to Read your student-friendly ticket to success.

Downloadable images of historical medical illustration- some pretty funky stuff. Great resource for science or art projects.

It's a list, and it's aimed at professional writers, but it may be of interest to English teachers wanting to use open source software beyond OO.o