The aim of this role is to enable as many sound resources as possible to be included for online dissemination by conducting rights clearance activities and to ensure that the rights clearance process is recorded to a high standard to ensure proper due diligence audit trails are in place. This job is part of \u201cUnlocking Our Sound Heritage\u201d, an ambitious project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and led by the British Library in conjunction with national and regional partners across the UK.<\/p>\n
This post will be part of a small team based at a new sound hub at National Library of Scotland at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, with the aim to digitise, catalogue and clear rights for 5,000 sound items currently held by organisations across Scotland.<\/p>\n
The post holder will undertake Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) research and trace rights holders in line with agreed rights clearance policies. They will negotiate and record any agreements made about rights and access. They will also consider what action needs to be taken to ensure that any sensitive material is either cleared for use or restricted.<\/p>\n
In carrying out this work, the post holder will need to consider how much and what type of effort to make for each case of IPR, and will variously contact and consult recordists and rights owners including, where appropriate, artists and communities directly and via rights collecting societies, musicians unions and\/or local community organisations.<\/p>\n
Duties and Responsibilities<\/p>\n
The post holder will:<\/p>\n
\u2022 carry out all tasks necessary to identify rights and rights holder and trace them<\/p>\n
\u2022 identify rights within sound recordings, including determination of publication dates<\/p>\n
\u2022 send permissions requests to select rights holders (and\/or their representatives, e.g. publishers, agents, estates, other relevant corporate bodies) for the digitisation and use of collection items and negotiate access and rights agreements with rights holders<\/p>\n
\u2022 ensure that all material adheres to the agreed ethical and legal frameworks prior to publication<\/p>\n
\u2022 ensure that all metadata resulting from the rights clearance process accurately reflects the rights status, and any access restrictions are appropriately recorded<\/p>\n
\u2022 keep and maintain clear records of actions taken<\/p>\n
\u2022 produce reports for the Sound Hub Project Manager as required<\/p>\n
\u2022 be a first point of contact for all rights related queries from rights holders or internal stakeholders<\/p>\n
\u2022 update workflow tracking tools and documentation for the programme to record the rights status of items and all steps taken in the due diligence process<\/p>\n
\u2022 ensure that any restrictions or conditions associated with collection items are flagged appropriately so that they are not inadvertently breached<\/p>\n
The post holder is expected to demonstrate a willingness to take on a range of tasks and to develop new skills, as appropriate, to support the delivery of the project as required by their line manager.<\/p>\n