VHS Digitization Procedures

DIGITIZATION OF STONEHILL COLLEGE VHS COLLECTIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 108 OF US COPYRIGHT ACT

I. SUMMARY

These  procedures govern the creation of preservation copies of VHS materials from the collections of the MacPhaidin Library (the “Library”), including Special Collections and Archives (collectively, the “Libraries”).

II. PURPOSE

The following are the  Libraries’ procedures for creating preservation copies of audiovisual materials from its collections. These preservation copies will become part of the Libraries’ collection and are not to be made for the purpose of supplying a patron with a personal copy of an item. These procedures are based on Section 108(c) of the Copyright Act, along with guidance from the Stonehill College Office of the General Counsel (“OGC”) and the 2012 report “Video At Risk: Strategies for Preserving Commercial Video Collections in Libraries” produced by the NYU Libraries.

Copyright Section 108(c) reads:

17 USC § 108 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives

(c) The right of reproduction under this section applies to three copies or phonorecords of a published work duplicated solely for the purpose of replacement of a copy or phonorecord that is damaged, deteriorating, lost, or stolen, or if the existing format in which the work is stored has become obsolete, if—

(1) the library or archives has, after a reasonable effort, determined that an unused replacement cannot be obtained at a fair price; and

(2) any such copy or phonorecord that is reproduced in digital format is not made available to the public in that format outside the premises of the library or archives in lawful possession of such copy.

III. IDENTIFYING VHS MATERIALS FOR POTENTIAL DIGITIZATION

Digitization of VHS materials is based on individual item review and the teaching needs of the College faculty. Media items in current, commercially available formats such as DVD may not be digitized for streaming use.

VHS materials that will be considered for digitization include:

• VHS materials currently housed in the library:
  • Faculty who use VHS in their teaching which are currently housed in the library should contact the Library to nominate materials for digitization under Section 108
• VHS materials currently in faculty members’ personal collections:
  • Faculty who use media in their teaching, for which they own a personal copy, should contact the Library so that a librarian may conduct a Section 108 review of the material; any materials deemed eligible for digitization under Section 108 must be donated to the libraries’ collections and cataloged prior to digitization.

Prior to digitization:

• The Libraries will attempt to replace the videos in either streaming or DVD format, based on price and availability, as outlined below.
• If a replacement copy cannot be purchased, prior to digitization a librarian will make an effort to find alternative content that will meet the faculty member’s instructional goals.

If a faculty member determines that the proposed alternative content is not appropriate and the original VHS meets the requirements for Section 108 eligibility, the Libraries and Information Technology (“IT”)  will work together to make a digitized copy available as outlined below.

A physical copy of the original VHS tape must be maintained by the Libraries.

IV. STEPS IN DETERMINING SECTION 108 ELIGIBILITY

Materials will be considered for preservation under 108(c) if they can no longer be viewed properly (due to obsolescence, damage, deterioration, lost, stolen) and if an unused replacement copy cannot be obtained at a fair price.

• Defining obsolescence, damage, deterioration, lost and stolen.
  • Obsolescence:
    • A format is “obsolete” if "the machine or device necessary to render [the work] is no longer manufactured or reasonability available in the commercial marketplace.” (Video At Risk, p. 8)
    • The following formats may reasonably be considered obsolete: LaserDisc, filmstrip, U-matics, S-VHS.
  • Damage:
    • And item is “damaged” if visible or otherwise perceivable deterioration of the video or audio signal prohibits the work from being viewed in its original condition. This could include (1) noticeable visual dropout, (2) noticeable audio dropout, (3) noticeable repeated disruption in the video RF signal, (4) color loss or alteration, or (5) other degradation or distortion of the content that would impair viewing.
    • For tape and film based media, a work could be considered damaged if a significant amount of the material has been physically damaged and spliced out of the total work.
    • For tape based media, if the carrier has sustained significant damages that affects playback, then an attempt should be made to play the tape in a new unused carrier before moving forward with a 108 determination.
  • Deterioration
    • An item has “deterioration” if visible or otherwise perceptible deterioration of the video signal prohibits the work from being viewed in its original condition. This could include (1) noticeable visual dropout, (2) noticeable audio dropout, (3) noticeable repeated disruption in the video RF signal, (4) color loss or alteration, or (5) other degradation or distortion of the content that would impair viewing.
    • Only perceptible deterioration will be considered.  Concerns of "imminent loss" with no perceptible deterioration does not satisfy the requirements of Section 108.    
  • Lost
    • An item is “lost” if it has been identified by Library staff as missing or lost and standard procedures to locate the item have not led to its return.  This includes items that are more than 6 months overdue and standard procedures to contact the patron and retrieve the item have not led to its return.
    • If the original item is returned after a Section 108 copy has been made, that copy should be removed from circulation while a new Section 108 evaluation is conducted.
  • Stolen:
    • An item is “stolen” if it has been identified by Library staff as stolen and standard procedures to locate the item have not led to its return.
    • If the item is returned after a Section 108 copy is made, the copy should be removed from circulation while a new Section 108 evaluation is conducted.
• Defining a reasonable effort to locate an unused replacement copy at a fair price.
  • "Fair price" means at or near retail price of the work when new.  Media Review Digest or other similar resources may be used to determine original pricing.
  • “Reasonable efforts” means reviewing or contacting the following resources to determine if an unused copy is available for purchase:
    • Worldcat
    • Amazon.com
    • IMDB
    • Google search
    • Publisher/ Distributor of published work
    • Section108video.com project
    • Resources consulted will be tracked in a spreadsheet

V. CREATING A REPLACEMENT COPY

Once an item has been determined to be eligible for replacement, the following steps will be taken in creating and providing access to the copy.

• Source material for copying
  • Obsolete/Deteriorating materials.  Use the item from the Media Library collection to create the replacement copy.  If a deteriorating item is not physically suitable to copy, borrow a copy through Interlibrary Loan.
  • Lost/Stolen/Damaged/Deteriorating materials.  Borrow a copy of the item through Interlibrary Loan in order to create the replacement copy.
• Making the copy
  • IT will convert the item to an electronic format. Current in-house digitization standards will be used.
  • Copies will be stored as electronic files unless a DVD copy is requested.
• Access:
  • Electronic files will be made available to students in specific courses via electronic reserves (ARES) for a set period of time, such as 10 days. Use of electronic reserves requires faculty to enable ARES in their eLearn course site(s).
  • A DVD copy, if requested, will be available as a DVD loan through the library, or may be placed on physical course reserve.
• Bibliographic control of the preservation copy
  • 500: This preservation copy was made in accordance with Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Code.
  • 500: NOTICE: Campus use only.
  • A new library catalog record will be created for the preservation copy
• Bibliographic control of the original VHS
  • 500 A preservation copy was made of this film in accordance with Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Code.
  • Obsolete/Deteriorating items.  The original item will be removed from circulation, but will not be discarded. The holdings will be removed from Worldcat.   The bibliographic and item records will be suppressed and the following note will be added to the bibliography:

VI. CHALLENGES TO SECTION 108 COPIES

If a rights holder has an objection to the creation of a Section 108 copy, one should send a printed letter or email to the Libraries stating the basis for the objection.

If an objection is made, the Libraries will cease circulation of the copy while the objection is investigated.

VII. DATES

• Approved by the OGC on 2/7/2017
• Published to the Library website on 2/23/2017

VIII. CREATIVE COMMONS NOTICE

This procedure was drafted based on the University of North Texas's policy entitled "Applying Copyright Section 108c to the UNT Media Library Collection," which was shared under a Creative Commons license. 

Use of this material is subject to our Creative Commons License.