Increasing Librarian Confidence and Comprehension in a Fair Use Training Session

The results of this study illustrate that one-shot training sessions are effective in aiding librarians in academic libraries to engage with fair use. This study used testing both before and after an expert-led three-hour training session on fair use for academic librarians to measure their confidence and comprehension. The results, though limited in scope, provide encouraging evidence that appropriate training, even for a limited time, can help library professionals improve their knowledge of fair use.¹ The level of confidence and comprehension rose after the academic librarian participants were provided with the three-hour fair use training. The survey results collected two weeks after the training demonstrated that some librarians had an opportunity to use the skills learned in the training in their daily work. Because fair use is frequent in the everyday experience of academic librarians, additional training for librarians through their employment is recommended. Although it would be ideal to have an expert lead such training, a ready-made curriculum would also be a useful tool for academic libraries wishing to engage in educational practices with copyright.