California Uses Copyright Excuse To Avoid Police Transparency. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is taking on the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) for using copyright as justification for skirting state transparency laws. According to a Newsweek report, EFF was denied access to POST’s open data portal on training materials for the use of automated license plate readers, facial recognition technology and use-of-force by officers because the materials were “unavailable due to copyright protections invoked by the companies that had created them.” EFF alleges the copyright claims go against the California Public Records Act (CPRA) that requires POST to “conspicuously post” all training materials.
Libraries Provide Growing Support During COVID-19. NPR’s Thomas Wilburn highlights some interesting insights and about the role libraries are playing with changing demands during the COVID-19 pandemic. The District of Columbia’s libraries have seen 7,000 people register for library cards since March 16 and a 37% increase in borrowing compared to the same period in 2019. According to library checkout service OverDrive, library ebook lending across the country has increased by nearly 50 percent. Demand for children’s ebooks have more than doubled and checkouts of sub-sub-genres in the self-help categories “motivation” and “happiness” have grown which provides insights into “our collective psychological strain.”
Celebrating Art In the Time of Coronavirus. An online art exhibition debuted on June 6 called “Life During WarTime: Art in the Age of the Coronavirus” hosted by the University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum featuring art created during the quarantine. The purpose of the exhibition is to demonstrate what a turbulent year 2020 has been thus far, specifically showing how artists have responded to the crisis. The Guardian describes the content as “self-isolation selfies to photographs of hospital intensive care units, portraits of essential farm workers, with themes of climate change, family drama, government control and police violence.”
Get To Know The Medical Library Association. Re:Create has launched a new blog series, Get To Know Our Members, to help others better understand its members and their work in support of balanced copyright policies. The newest post features a Q&A with Andy Hickner, Co-Chair of the Medical Library Association Governmental Relations Committee.