Category Archives: serials

Build a better registry: My intended comments to the Library of Congress on the next Register of Copyrights

Posted on March 19, 2020 by John Mark Ockerbloom

The Library of Congress is seeking public input on abilities and priorities desired for the next Register of Copyrights, who heads the Copyright Office, a department within the Library of Congress.  The deadline for comments as I write this is … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, data, metadata, open access, serials | Comments Off on Build a better registry: My intended comments to the Library of Congress on the next Register of Copyrights

2020 vision #1: Opportunity

Posted on December 2, 2019 by John Mark Ockerbloom

In just thirty days from when this post appears, a new crop of works will join the public domain. Exactly what will come out of copyright will vary by country.  In Europe and other places with “life+70 years” copyright terms, … Continue reading →

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Wikipedia and the deep backfile

Posted on November 8, 2019 by John Mark Ockerbloom

We’re continuing to add serial information to the Deep Backfile project that I announced here last month.  I’m adding some of the existing information in The Online Books Page serials listings and our first serial renewals listings that hadn’t initially … Continue reading →

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Invitation to participate in a new project: Help open journals’ deep backfiles

Posted on October 10, 2019 by John Mark Ockerbloom

As I’ve noted here previously, there’s a wealth of serial content published in the 20th century that’s in the public domain, but not yet freely available online, often due to uncertainty about its copyright (and the resulting hesitation to digitize … Continue reading →

Posted in citizen librarians, copyright, open access, serials | Comments Off on Invitation to participate in a new project: Help open journals’ deep backfiles

Everybody’s Library Questions: Copyright and advertisements

Posted on July 10, 2019 by John Mark Ockerbloom

My previous post answered a reader question about how to determine whether a newspaper (or other serial issue) was under copyright or not.  (More details about the process can be found in our guide “Determining copyright status of serial issues”.)  … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, serials | 2 Comments

Everybody’s Library Questions: Newspaper copyrights, notices, and renewals

Posted on July 2, 2019 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Because I blog about  copyrights for serials, I occasionally get questions in comments to my posts about determining what exactly is copyrighted in those serials.  I’ve been slow to answer them in the comments threads, partly because some of them … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, serials | 2 Comments

More and better copyright data online for serials and books

Posted on June 28, 2019 by John Mark Ockerbloom

It’s getting easier over time to find and use data on copyrights, and thereby to find and make use of materials in the public domain.  Here’s a quick update on what’s new and what’s coming, in my projects and elsewhere. … Continue reading →

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Public Domain Day advent calendar #11: Washington and its Romance by Thomas Nelson Page

Posted on December 11, 2018 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I’m in Washington, DC all day today for CNI’s Fall 2018 Membership Meeting, so for today I have a quick entry of local interest that also ties into what I’ve been talking about here.  For folks interested in my talk, … Continue reading →

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Public Domain Day advent calendar #7: New York Tribune (1923 issues)

Posted on December 7, 2018 by John Mark Ockerbloom

In yesterday’s advent calendar post, I noted that in the 1920s, “newspapers and the comic strips that appeared in them were considered ephemeral, and copyright renewal was very rare”.  One newspaper that represents an exception to this rule is the … Continue reading →

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Announcing a draft guide for identifying public domain serial content

Posted on December 6, 2018 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Back in June, I announced that we had completed an inventory of all serials with active copyright renewals made through 1977, based on listings in the Copyright Office’s Catalog of Copyright Entries.  At the time, I said we’d also be … Continue reading →

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