Category Archives: sharing

My thanks to all sharing books online

Posted on July 4, 2023 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Two score and twelve years ago, Michael Hart sat down at a terminal at the University of Illinois and typed in the text of the Declaration of Independence. He shared the file he created with other users of the computer … Continue reading →

Posted in online books, open access, people, sharing | Leave a comment

Public Domain Day countdown on public social media networks

Posted on November 2, 2022 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I’m starting my countdown today to Public Domain Day, when a year’s worth of copyrights in many countries expires on January 1. In the US, we’ll be getting works that were copyrighted in 1927, and whose copyrights were consistently maintained … Continue reading →

Posted in publicdomain, sharing | 3 Comments

Public Domain Day 2019: Welcome to 1923!

Posted on January 1, 2019 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Early this morning, a full year’s worth of published works were welcomed into the public domain in the United States for the first time since 1998. Hundreds of thousands of works from 1923 either joined the public domain here, or … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, open access, sharing | 2 Comments

Why pay for what’s free? Finding open access and public domain articles

Posted on October 23, 2018 by John Mark Ockerbloom

[Another version of this post appears on PennLibNews, as part of the Penn Libraries’ celebration of Open Access Week.] It happens to most researchers all too often.  You see a reference or a link to an article that you’d love … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, libraries, open access, serials, sharing | 9 Comments

Public domain serials: Renewal inventory complete!

Posted on June 15, 2018 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I’m pleased to announce an important milestone in the IMLS-funded project I’m leading to help open access to 20th century public domain serials.  We now have a complete, openly published inventory of all serials with active issue or contribution renewals … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, metadata, open access, serials, sharing | 3 Comments

Public Domain Day 2018: The 20-year alarm clock

Posted on January 1, 2018 by John Mark Ockerbloom

In Washington Irving’s classic story “Rip van Winkle“, the title character follows an archaically-dressed stranger into a mountain hideaway, falls asleep, and wakes up to find the world has moved on 20 years without him.  He’s alarmed at first, but … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, online books, open access, serials, sharing | 1 Comment

Adding more, and more structured, information about public domain serials

Posted on December 11, 2017 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I’ve been happy to hear from a number of people and institutions interested in the IMLS-funded project we now have underway to shed light on the hidden public domain of 20th century serials that I discussed in my last post.  … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, metadata, open access, science fiction, serials, sharing | Comments Off on Adding more, and more structured, information about public domain serials

New IMLS-funded project: Opening access to 20th century public domain serials

Posted on September 13, 2017 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I’m happy to report that over the next year, I and others at Penn will be working on a project that the Institute of Museum and Library Services has just funded to help open access to the vast public domain … Continue reading →

Posted in awards, citizen librarians, copyright, metadata, open access, serials, sharing | 2 Comments

The value of catalogs in the linked data era: Two recent talks

Posted on September 12, 2016 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I’ve recently uploaded two talks I gave this year to my Selected Works site.  I presented “How Not to Waste Catalogers’ Time: Making the most of subject headings” at the Code4lib 16 conference in Philadelphia in March.  “How to Read … Continue reading →

Posted in discovery, metadata, open access, sharing, subjects | Comments Off on The value of catalogs in the linked data era: Two recent talks

Sharing journals freely online

Posted on May 25, 2016 by John Mark Ockerbloom

What are all the research journals that anyone can read freely online?  The answer is harder to determine than you might think.  Most research library catalogs can be searched for online serials (here’s what Penn Libraries gives access to, for … Continue reading →

Posted in citizen librarians, copyright, discovery, libraries, open access, serials, sharing | 2 Comments