As far as my understanding goes (possibly just a hundred yards down the road and then left a bit...), much depends on how any given scanned article was acquired in the first place. Consensus from discussion on lis-copyseek around scanning is that an individual is able to scan articles from the print journals for him/herself in the same way that they would be able to photocopy under library privilege, for "the purpose of non-commercial research or private study" and observing extent limits. Doesn't seem to be anything to stop them keeping these...  If, as Malcolm points out, they're downloading from the electronic version of a journal, the selection of articles may need effectively to be 'odds and sods' (that's a technical term ;-) rather than a coherent collection to comply with the usage license. If they'd received them through the BL SED service, it would depend whether they'd been provided as library privilege copies - http://www.bl.uk/services/document/lps.html#sed, "Library Privilege documents supplied by secure electronic delivery must not be stored electronically. You must delete the file as soon as a single paper copy has been printed." or using the copyright-fee paid service - http://www.bl.uk/services/document/edd.html#sed,  "Depending on the document received, some Copyright Fee Paid documents supplied by secure electronic delivery can be stored locally on a hard drive for up to 3 years from the time and date given on the email notification, others will expire sooner."
 
I have to say, I read it in the same way as Stephen - that the suggestion is to download en masse to provide a large set of information that can then be interrogated. Being charitable, it could be that they're well aware of all the licence and copyright implications, and just didn't have time to go into all this in their letter... but even so it possibly makes life seem simpler than it actually is...
 
Anyway, being curious, I've emailed Adam Magos to find out more...
 
Tom.
 
Tom Bishop
Information Services Manager
The Royal College of Surgeons of England Library.
 
-----Original Message-----
From: UK medical/ health care library community / information workers [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dobson, Malcolm
Sent: 18 July 2005 11:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Article in Lancet on full-text searching

Copyright - The BL web site says, in relation to items supplied electronically through the Copyright Fee Paid service -
 "you may not copy, store in any electronic medium or otherwise reproduce or resell any of the content, even for internal purposes, except as may be allowed by law." & that you can only print one paper copy (http://www.bl.uk/services/document/edd.html#sed).
The Lancet's website has this -
"You may print or download Content from the Site for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided that you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. You may not engage in systematic retrieval of Content from the Site to create or compile, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database or directory without prior written permission from Elsevier." (http://www.thelancet.com/misc/terms) (my emphases) which I suspect will not be very different from most publisher's conditions
 
In response to Michele's other comments, although I agree that unneccessary searches on medline etc should be discouraged, using a personal database compiled on one topic for information about another would not retrieve highly relevant information; using it to retrieve information about the same topic some months after it was originally compiled would result in relevant, more recent information being missed.
 
Malcolm S. Dobson
Librarian
James B.P. Ferguson Library
14 Beckford St
Hamilton ML3 0TA

01698 281313

 
 -----Original Message-----
From: Hilton Boon Michele [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 18 July 2005 10:46
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Article in Lancet on full-text searching
Is there anything in copyright law to state that a copy made by an individual for personal use may not be stored indefinitely? I believe it's libraries that can't keep copies of articles received via ILL for transmission to users.  The users themselves can keep them - that's what 'personal use' is all about.
 
An engine that searches one's own computer files serves a profoundly different purpose than large scholarly databases.  Why push our users towards ungainly, time-consuming database searches when they are trying to meet an information need in a more efficient way - searching within a 'results set' they have created themselves?
 
I know we have been programmed to believe that every question requires a database search to find an answer, but it just ain't so.  From the clinician's point of view, a full-scale database search should be the last resort in answering a question, not the first.  Quite possibly by the time they come to us, they are at the stage of requiring a database search.  But if they're looking for a way to search their own archives for an answer, surely we should help them to meet their stated need rather than telling them they need something different.
 
Regards,
Michele
---
Michele Hilton Boon
Opinionated Information Scientist
National Prescribing Centre
-----Original Message-----
From: UK medical/ health care library community / information workers [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Ellingham Susanne (RTF) NHCT
Sent: 18 July 2005 10:07
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Article in Lancet on full-text searching

There is a letter in the current Lancet 16 July 2005 Vol 366, No 9481. p203 about using desktop search software  to "search ... articles stored on a personal computer on a full-text basis - articles which are widely available for download from the publishers."

What are the copyright implications if a library user comes and asks for assistance with this? 

My gut reaction  is to  suggest that they learn to use advanced techniques of searching with filters in Dialog/Ovid, rather than just PubMed/Embase.  Maybe do a follow-up search using journal webpages individually or through eg Proquest.  Next that they make use of Google Scholar - but I am not sure how comprehensive this would be.   I  think just searching what you have downloaded could be rather limiting even if you also have full-text CDs of appropriate journals.   - and I'm very uneasy about copyright since I reckon users wouldn't be deleting their stash of articles as soon as they have identified and printed off what they need .....

Susanne

Susanne Ellingham
Librarian
Hexham General Hospital
HEXHAM
NE46 1QJ

01434 655420 (direct)  or  01434 655655  Ext 5420

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