Frugality and Copyright

"Hey, Mom. If you can make a copy of a recipe from a library book, then why can't I copy a song from a library CD onto my MP3 player?" Oh from the mouths of babes.....

I love our library. The books, the movies, the magazines, the CDs, the activities. Rarely do they not have what we are looking for. Lately I have been checking out cookbooks on freezer cooking and once-a-month cooking to help decrease our reliance on ordering pizza and fast food. One book I loved so much, I bought it, which I rarely do with cookbooks. But most others I find just one or two recipes that I think we will like. I also like to check out craft books and magazines and often find things in those books that I will make. The same with cross-stitch books. The ideas from the craft books I can generally get completed before the book is due back, but not with cross-stitch. If it's a larger design or my schedule gets crazy, it may take more than the 2 months (1 month checkout plus one renewal) to complete.

I know that in the crafting world - cross-stitch, quilting, etc. - copyright is a very big issue. There have been many arguments over what constitutes a copyright violation. Some people think if you haven't actually purchased the chart and paid money so that the designer makes a profit, you should not stitch the design. Some people think that as long as you do not put into circulation an additional copy of the charted design, you're okay. And then some people think that what you do with a design and how you got it is your own business and do what you think is right.

So where am I going with this? What does all this have to do with copyright? My question lately has been, how does this affect a library copy? Many frugality and personal finance experts and bloggers advocate using your library to its full extent. Get out those cookbooks and craft books and use them to your heart's delight. Check out a few CDs and listen away. I do this too. But if you read the fine print in the front of the book, or the CD case, it says not to make any - ANY - copy without permission. Hmmm. I asked the librarian about this, and their position is, if you are only wanting a couple of recipes, it's okay to copy them from the book for your own personal use. A working copy, if you please, such as is usually granted with cross-stitch designs. That I can understand. Many recipes from magazines are printed online on websites, and that's basically fair game. And for the record, I have tried to contact a few publishing companies with this question, but no one has replied back. As far as the music, I make my kids purchase the downloads they want after listening to the library CD. I've explained that as the library CD is to be used as a trial run, and then they will only have to buy the songs they really like, and the kids understand that.

I want to be frugal and save money wherever possible, but not at the extent of someone else's livelihood. That would be stealing. So use those libraries whenever possible. Just be careful about what you decide to copy. Someone else is depending on you to make the right decision.