About Us

The University Libraries' Copyright program is focused on addressing the campus's informational and educational needs around copyright. We offer an expanding menu of education and training opportunities, including this website, personal and small-group consultations, tailored and course-integrated instruction, and workshops on fundamental copyright and scholarly communications issues.

Common topics for consultation and outreach efforts include:

• Basics of Copyright Law - copyrightability; rights and responsibilities
• Educational, Scholarly and Classroom Use - fair use and other statutory exceptions
• Scholarly Communications: Author Control of Copyright
• cholarly Communications: Open Access and Institutional Repositories
• The Public Domain and Fair Use for everyone - inspiration, creativity, reference, and transformation
• Alternative models for promoting and protecting content - Creative Commons and open source licensing

Our Staff

Nancy Sims is the Copyright Program Librarian. She has an MLIS from Rutgers University, and a JD from the University of Michigan. She was formerly the Instructional Technology Librarian at the University of Michigan, and during her time in law school, held internships with the online civil liberties group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the law firm Fenwick & West, LLP. She is available for individual consultation, or to speak with your campus group.

Contact Nancy Sims at nasims@umn.edu, or call 612-624-1851.