Items Explain Public Domain’s Purpose in New Library Exhibit

In its new mini-exhibit, the UTA Libraries Special Collections Department is showcasing some of the creative works from its collection that have become public domain materials on Jan. 1, in partnership with UTA Libraries new Open Partnerships and Services department.  

Leah McCurdy, Director of Open Partnerships and Services, stated that she attended a program at a workshop where copyright law was being discussed, which is where she got the idea for the mini exhibit. 

“I was in a workshop offered by Internet Archive,  a large nonprofit digital library, and there was a program about copyright and the history of copyright,” Leah said. “A guy (in the workshop) mentioned that on Jan. 1, things go into the public domain. This made me wonder what is coming into the public domain in our  Special Collections. Evan Spencer with SPCO and I just did a search on the main library catalog, and found that 160 things were going into the public domain, more than we expected.” 

Leah stated that the mini- exhibit gives people a good education about the public domain, how they can use it and its purpose.  

According to the Stanford Libraries website, the term public domain refers to creative materials not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws.  

The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can ever own it. However, while each work belongs to the public, collections of public domain works may be protected by copyright.  

Works can go into the public domain if the copyright has expired, the copyright owner did not renew, the copyright owner deliberately placed it in the public domain, or copyright law does not protect this type of work.  

“Every Jan. 1, we get a new crop of public domain materials. This year most things published in 1927 went into the public domain. So, this year Winnie the Pooh literary work came into the public domain and next year (2024) the earliest versions of Mickey Mouse like Steamboat Willie will become public property,” Leah said. “It also depends on whether the publisher seeks additional copyrights and all that stuff.” 

The mini exhibit displayed in the Special Collections Department features books, photographs and music chosen as favorites by staff from the list of 160 newly public domain items. One item in the mini exhibit is the musical score “My Texas,” written and published by Patti Morriss Anderson of Olney. Evan digitized the musical composition and made a QR code to scan in the mini exhibit. People also can listen to it on the UTA Libraries website at https://libraries.uta.edu/media/3554.  

Leah said an exhibit like this helps bring awareness to these items and that they are available to be used by the public and can help inspire new creative creations.  

The Public Domain Month mini- exhibit runs through the end of January. The exhibit is in the Special Collections Department on the sixth floor of the UTA Central Library building.