Uncertainty About 'Fair Use' Is Hurting Academic and Research Libraries, ARL Report Says

"A lack of consensus about how to apply the fair use provision of copyright law is consistently impairing the mission of academic and research libraries, according to a new report. The report, released December 20 by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), concludes that librarians often feel ill-equipped to make decisions about fair use and increasingly have as their primary goal avoiding litigation and harm to their institution, regardless of what the law allows and what the user community needs...."