Copy and Paste and Paste and Paste? Not so Fast…

With the availability of easy information, and the access to so many ideas via the Internet, the awareness of copyright has never been more important. This past week, two events highlighted this: World Book and Copyright Day on April 23 and World Intellectual Property Day on April 26. Activities on both days highlight inventors, designers, and authors whose works have improved our cultural heritage.

In light of these events, today’s blog provides a way for us to encourage the promotion and protection of innovation. Whether you’re a producer or a consumer, knowing the basics will help you navigate the rapids of information.

~~~

Here are some resources to get you started:

BOOKS:

Common as Air: Revolution, Art, and Ownership by Lewis Hyde

The Complete Patent Kit by James L. Rogers

Copyfraud and Other Abuses of Intellectual Property Law by Jason Mazzone

The Copyright Handbook: What Every Writer Needs to Know by Stephen Fishman

Copyright’s Paradox by Neil Netanel

The Cyber Citizen’s Guide Through the Legal Jungle: Internet Law for Your Professional Online Presence by Joy R. Butler

Darknet: Hollywood’s War Against the Digital Generation by J. D. Lasica

Getting Permission: How to License and Clear Copyrighted Materials, Online and Off by Richard Stim

Hot Property: The Stealing of Ideas in an Age of Globalization by Pat Choate

How to Fix Copyright by William F. Patry

The Illustrated Story of Copyright by Edward B. Samuels

Inventor’s Patent, Protect, Produce and Profit from Your Ideas and Inventions Yourself! by Victor N. Vic-Vincent

The Little Book of Plagiarism by Richard A. Posner

The Mom Inventor’s Handbook: How to Turn Your Great Idea into the Next Big Thing by Tamara Monosoff

Patent, Copyright, and Trademark by Richard Stim

Patent Pending in 24 Hours

Patent Searching Made Easy: How to Do Patent Searches on the Internet and in the Library by David Hitchcock

The Patent Writer: How to Write Successful Patent Applications by Bob DeMatteis

Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks for Dummies by Henri Charmasson

The Pirate’s Dilemma: How Youth Culture is Reinventing Capitalism by Matt Mason

Profit from Your Idea: How to Make Smart Licensing Deals by Richard Stim

Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy by Lawrence Lessig

~~~

SITES:

Copyright Kids

HowStuffWorks: How Patents Work

Legal Information Institute: Patent

Library of Congress: Taking the Mystery Out of Copyright

NOLO: Patent, Copyright, & Trademark

U.S. Copyright Office

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The Way Back Machine – Best Sellers 1965

Let’s hop into the Way Back Machine – we’ve a Ticket to Ride all the way to 1965. You remember that year, right? In case you don’t, here are a few events that might jog your memory:

• In February, Canada gets a new flag (the one with the maple leaf).
• My Fair Lady wins the Best Picture Oscar in April.
• In August, LBJ signs into law the Voting Rights Act.

Need more? Check out one of the titles below, all of which were on the New York Times Best Seller List for the week of March 21, 1965.

~~~

FICTION:

1 – Herzog by Saul Bellow

2 – Hurry Sundown by K.B. Gilden

3 – Funeral in Berlin by Len Deighton

4 – The Man by Irving Wallace

5 – The Legend of the Seventh Virgin by Victoria Holt

6 – Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman

7 – Hotel by Arthur Hailey

8 – The Ordways by William Humphrey

9 – The Rector of Justin by Louis Auchincloss

10 – A Covenant with Death by Stephen Becker

~~~

NONFICTION:

1 – Markings by Dag Hammarskjöld

2 – The Founding Father by Richard J. Whalen

3 – Queen Victoria: Born to Succeed by Elizabeth Longford

4 – My Shadow Ran Fast by Bill Sands

5 – The Italians by Luigi Barzini

6 – Reminiscences by Douglas Macarthur

7 – Sixpence in Her Shoe by Phyllis McGinley

8 – Life with Picasso by Francoise Gilot and Carlton Lake

9 – Stagestruck by Maurice Zolotow

10 – Catherine the Great by Zoe Oldenbourg

~~~

W is for Work

This spring we’ve been looking at the idea of “work”. We’ve teamed with the Magic Valley Arts Council to help highlight their traveling Smithsonian exhibit The Way We Worked by presenting the Let’s Talk About It series on “Working Making a Living, Making a Life.” And we’re also showcasing some of our historical photographs in a mini-gallery featuring what working was like when the Magic Valley was young.

And beyond all that, I’m sure that spring cleaning is the work that’s on the minds of many of us – just thinking about cleaning the closets and getting out in the garden is enough to start my allergies…

With that in mind, here’s a list of nonfiction books about people and their work. Whether they tried out something new, or are writing about the behind-the-scenes of their current career path, the people in these jobs offer us a different glimpse of the daily grind.

~~~

Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home – Gil Reavill

Ambulance Girl: How I Saved Myself by Becoming an EMT – Jane Stern

Among Schoolchildren – Tracy Kidder

Blue Blood – Edward Conlon

Callgirl – Jeanette Angell

Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler: A Memoir – Wade Rouse

Confessions of a Tax Collector: One Man’s Tour of Duty Inside the IRS – Richard Yancey

Cooking Dirty: A Story of Life, Sex, Love, and Death in the Kitchen – Jason Sheehan

Counter Culture: The American Coffee Shop Waitress – Candacy A. Taylor

Curtains: Adventures of an Undertaker-in-Training – Tom Jokinen

The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef – Marco Pierre White

Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States – Pete Jordan

Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year – Esme Raji Codell

Fire Fighters: Stories of Survival from the Front Lines of Firefighting – edited by Clint Wills

Free For All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library – Don Borchert

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise – Ruth Reichl

Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany – Bill Buford

Hey Waitress: The USA from the Other Side of the Tray – Alison Owings

House Calls and Hitching Posts: Stories from Dr. Elton Lehman’s Career Among the Amish – Elton Lehman

How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else – Michael Gill

In the Basement of the Ivory Tower: Confessions of an Accidental Academic – Professor X

In the Land of Long Fingernails: A Gravedigger in the Age of Aquarius – Charles Wilkins

Jumping Fire: A Smokejumper’s Memoir of Fighting Wildfire – Murry A. Taylor

Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail – Caitlin Kelly

Ms. Moffett’s First Year: Becoming a Teacher in America – Abby Goodnough

Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing – Ted Conover

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America – Barbara Ehernreich

Nursing America: One Year Behind the Nursing Stations of an Inner-City Hospital – Sandy Balfour

On Call: A Doctor’s Days and Nights in Residency – Emily R. Transue

Plane Insanity: A Flight Attendant’s Tales of Sex, Rage, and Queasiness at 30,000 Feet – Elliott Hester

Retail Hell: How I Sold My Soul to the Store: Confessions of a Tortured Sales Associate – Freeman Hall

Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Bookstore – Suzanne Shea

Strip City: A Stripper’s Farewell Journey Across America – Lily Burana

Teacher Man: A Memoir – Frank McCourt

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip – Confessions of a Cynical Waiter – The Waiter

Weekends at Bellevue – Julie Holland

Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do – Studs Terkel

~~~

National Library Week 2012!

Next week is National Library Week, so take advantage of the most valuable card in your wallet! Stop by to check out our awesome materials or our even awesomer events; even some of our normal programming has been “revved” up!

On Tuesday (10), join us for a special Book Club, honoring National Poetry Month. We will meet at 5:30 PM and will discuss Poetry 180, a great anthology of contemporary poetry edited by former U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins. The first 10 participants will also get a free copy of this month’s issue of Poetry magazine, which is celebrating 100 years of publication!

On Wednesday (11), our resident local historian, librarian Mareda Wright, will be presenting “Life and Art Are One: Jessie Bisbee, Her Husband Clarence, and the Historical Photography of the Magic Valley” at 7:00 PM. She’ll talk about her research into the woman behind the man behind some of the area’s most iconic images.  Check out the Times-News article, too.

Also, we’re ready to reveal our newspaper digitization project! Thanks to a stimulus grant, our local Twin Falls newspapers, dating from 1904 through 2008, have been digitally transferred and are now searchable. Of course, the process isn’t always perfect, but we think it’s a great thing – much better than going through every page! Have fun researching.

Finally, as part of National Library Week, we’re conducting a survey to find out what our community thinks. Help us out by letting us know what you like, what you don’t, and what you’d like to see us do in the next five years. Click here for the survey!