Colleagues, Thought this article was of interest as most HBCUs utilize digital content to supplement dwelling fiscal resources for print materials and as print materials are becoming more and more increasingly supplanted by digital content. Here is an article from the Library Journal that I found interesting. Here is the premise of the article. The U.S Department of Commerce (DoC) has been collecting public comment on the topic of the first sale doctrine and digital files in recent weeks; the agency was scheduled to meet about the issue on December 12 in Washington, DC. First sale doctrine is a set of exemptions to U.S. copyright law that permit consumers to resell used books or DVDs and libraries to loan books without seeking permission from publishers. Yet for reasons examined in more detail below, first sale exemptions have not translated well for digital content. The DoC's call for public comment could mark the beginning of a campaign to reassess what copyright and first sale mean in the modern digital era, notes one expert. While the case did not directly address digital content, the Supreme Court's Kirtsaeng v. Wiley decision in March "has reawakened interest, on the content owners' side, to revise first sale," says Mary Minow, Follett Chair of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Dominican University, and executive editor of Stanford University's Copyright and Fair Use website. "Perhaps that's even part of the impetus behind this call for public comment. The energy is there to revise copyright law in its entirety, including first sale. If libraries aren't speaking up about what it is that we need, we're just going to be bulldozed over." Kirtsaeng v. Wiley involved print textbooks purchased in Thailand, priced for Western markets, and then resold on eBay for profits of up to $1.2 million. The ruling that first sale exemptions extended to copyrighted objects manufactured and distributed outside of the United States was a bracing one for publishers. Thus the interest in getting ahead of the currently muddled issue of digital first sale, Minow explains. As ebooks continue to grow in popularity and DVDs begin giving way to streaming content, the issue is of vital importance to the profession's future. Librarians who follow the topic have debated whether the best course of action is to advocate for new, updated copyright legislation that recognizes the fundamental differences between physical media-such as books or DVDs-and digital content such as ebooks, MP3 files, or digital photos, or to pursue favorable legal precedents through the courts. Link to the full article is below. http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/12/copyright/digital-firsts/ Mantra Henderson, MLIS Director of Library Services James H. White Library Mississippi Valley State University 14000 Highway 82 W. MVSU 5232 Itta Bena, MS 38941 (office)662-254-3494 (fax) 662-254-3499