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The University of Michigan Library is adopting Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial licenses for all works created by the Library for which the Regents of the University of Michigan hold the copyrights. These works include bibliographies, research guides, lesson plans, and technology tutorials. The Library believes that the adoption of Creative Commons licenses is perfectly aligned with our mission, "to contribute to the common good by collecting, organizing, preserving, communicating, and sharing the record of human knowledge."

Commented University Librarian Paul Courant, "Using Creative Commons licenses is another way the University Library can act on its commitment to the public good. By marking our copyrighted content as available for reuse, we offer the University community and the public a rich set of educational resources free from traditional permissions barriers."

What is Creative Commons?
Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization that created a set of simple, easy-to-understand copyright licenses. These licenses carve out a spectrum of options between the "all rights reserved" of traditional copyright and the rights-free public domain. The "Some Rights Reserved" model helps copyright holders to share their work easily without giving up all their rights, and it allows everyone to find work that is free to use without permission.

Millions of copyrighted works are already available for re-use under Creative Commons licenses, including photographs, videos, educational materials, books, music, illustrations, and scholarly articles.

What is the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license?
The Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license allows anyone to use the work - to copy, distribute, display, or perform it, and derivative works based on it - as long as the user gives proper attribution to the creator, and as long as the use is non-commercial.

What Library resources will be available with Creative Commons licenses?
All original copyrighted material that is created by Library staff and in which the copyright belongs to the Regents of the University of Michigan will be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial license. This includes bibliographies, research guides, lesson plans, committee reports and other resources. The Library has begun attaching Creative Commons licenses to content throughout its website, but some pages do not include the license notice yet. The licenses will be fully integrated into the Library's new website design, scheduled for release in Winter 2008.

To learn more about Creative Commons, and explore the wealth of materials already available under CC licenses, visit the Creative Commons website: http://creativecommons.org.

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