manifest assent

[Kimberly Parker <kimberly.parker@yale.edu>]

I have a couple of questions for the group about "licenses of manifest
assent" -- that is, those resources that have a "terms and conditions"
statement that says in effect "if you use these resources, you are to abide
by these terms and conditions" (or you are agreeing to abide by, or
something like that).  These are not "click-through licenses" in that
there's nothing that says you have to hit a button to signify agreement --
they simply exist on the site -- sometimes in very buried locations.

Having defined what I'm talking about, here are my questions.  First about
initiating or activating the resources that are affected by these manifest
assent licenses.  Second about ongoing treatment.

(1) What practices do you have for activating a resource with a license of
manifest assent?

	I've talked to librarians who ignore them completely, and don't
make any effort to read, negotiate, or keep track of them.
	I've talked to librarians who review them, and only attempt to
negotiate and get a replacement signable agreement if the manifest assent
license has problem language.
	I've talked to librarians who won't activate any resource with a
license of manifest assent and ALWAYS attempt to negotiate to replace them
with a signable license even if the language is fine.  (You'll see why
with my next question.)

(2) This is mostly to those people who fall into the middle of the above
range of approaches.  Obviously the first extreme has chosen to ignore
them, and the final extreme has solved the problem before it can happen.

	If you've read manifest assent licenses and find the language
acceptable, are you doing anything to keep regular tabs on the terms and
conditions to make sure they don't change to something you WOULDN'T find
acceptable?

I really want to start discussion on a few things, here.

DO we need to put a lot of effort into licenses of manifest assent, or can
we safely ignore them?  (I say this, realizing the recent thread on
signing anything and not worrying about it.)  If we waffle in the middle
of ignoring them, what if anything can we do to minimize the work involved
in dealing with these creatures?

Any insights would be lovely.  Even a lively discussion with no resolution
would be fun.


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Kimberly Parker
Electronic Publishing and Collections Librarian
Yale University Library
130 Wall Street              Voice (203) 432-0067
P.O. Box 208240              Fax (203) 432-7231
New Haven, CT  06520-8240    mailto:kimberly.parker@yale.edu
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