tion also permits the automatic loading of a copy onto a computer’s random access memory (RAM).
A software owner may also make a copy for archival purposes, so long as the archival copy is destroyed if possession ceases to be legitimate. Remember that the archival copy is just that. You may not make an archival copy under section 117 for use on another computer. Furthermore, when possession is no longer legitimate—for example, if you give the original software to someone else—you must destroy the archival copy.
Finally, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act amended section 117 to permit someone who owns or leases a computer to make a temporary copy of a program that was loaded on the machine for the purpose of repairing or maintaining the equipment. The new copy must be destroyed after the maintenance has been completed.
Section 117 was drafted in the days of floppy disks. It is much less important now that software is held on CD’s or sent through the web. So let’s move on to what really engages libraries and information vendors, the matter of licenses. We are going where the wild things are, so let the wild rumpus begin.[1]
Single-User and Site Licenses
The typical single-user license agreement prohibits use of software on more than one piece of equipment at one time. Unless the license so provides, you should not load the software on a network accessible to several different users, even if only one person can access the software at a time. However, installing software on a single computer that is used by several different people is permissible.
Site licenses permit group access to software, to databases, or to other digital products. Because cost is directly related to the number of users, you should determine how many people really need access. Although a public library may serve a population of 50,000 and a law firm library may serve 500 attorneys, this does not mean that the product needs to be accessible to everyone at one time. A public library may do quite well with a site license to a genealogy database that allows a few patrons simul-
- ↑ Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are (1963).
