Copyright thinking...

OK, so there are people who write craft books, and include patterns they're created. And they, quite naturally, often have little copyright notices saying that you can't use the patterns in a commercial manner - you can't sell stuff you've made from them, for instance. Which is all Right and Proper and I have no problem with.

...And then you come to something like the small pouch o'eyeballs I made for the Yuuko box where the pattern consists of an equilateral triangle 9" along each side. That's ... awfully basic. And the author and publisher are probably using "patterns" as a substitute for "don't sell anything resembling this thing because I thought it up and it's mine," but I just can't be sure in cases like that - what about an 8" or 10" triangle? Technically not using the pattern, but in spirit, yes. Harrumph.

(This is currently theoretical, and came up because I just ILLed a copy of Wagashi: handcrafted Fashion Art From Japan. Haven't looked through it yet, but I'm pondering where the line is between the pattern of a thing and the shape and thing-ness of a thing.)

Poll!

ETA: As this link is being propagated and may draw more commenters than usual to my LJ, I'm letting you know that I'm going to be at AnimeFest starting Friday morning through Monday afternoon and may not get a chance to read and/or respond until then. Thanks! (And hopefully you can understand my messy thoughts below! And if you have thoughts about how to make a hotel-based SF con more accessible and wish to share, please feel free to drop them on this post. Thank you!)

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As part of the website redesign, we are hammering out various bits of cataloging and organization and tearing our hair out.

Something that just came up in a discussion among two coworkers and I was the question of information for patrons with disabilities. I'd been thinking something on the order of having a link from the home page that read something like "Disability services" that led to a page that listed what we offered.*

One of my coworkers, however, is going by the opinion of a higher-up at the ALA with a hearing disability who says that it is more inclusive for users with disabilities to be treated as part of the larger population to which they belong. In other words, he'd prefer a link from the home page that led to, for example, a page for undergraduates and on that page, a link which read "Disability services" that led to the page that listed what we offered. (We're not talking about number of clicks to get to info here, just which should be preferred from a wider standpoint.)

The third coworker was smart and decided not to get between us at this stage. XD However, as we're able-bodied and haven't needed accommodation, it's all in the theoretical realm for us, and as I think we really ought to settle the question by asking people with more experience in these matters, I've created a poll (which is for everyone, not just those with disabilities!). It's more for my own edification, instead of a definitive answer, because I think we ought to ask our own patrons this question to get our final answer. But anyway.




* Things like how to get into the building without using the huge staircase in front, item retrieval for users with disabilities, the computers that are set up at differently-shaped desks and have some special software on them, where the elevators are, and whatever other accommodations we have.


( cut for poll )

Poll!

Over on my LJ, about how and where to list information about disability services on websites. Could probably be more well-constructed, but hopefully I'll get an idea of the general preferences.

(no subject)

It's the League of Librarians! From the Carlson Library at the University of Rochester.