Copyright, Presentations and Conferences

I'm going to combine copyright, presentations and conferences in this post because I feel that they are perhaps linked and very relevant today. I wrote the post for presentations but in doing so I touched on the issue of copyright as I pulled the post together for the Rudaí23 course.  I was very aware of plagiarism and spent some time reading, absorbing and re-stating the main issues that were raised in a number of books and articles about presenting and presentations.  It's easy to see how people just copy and paste and also perhaps many haven't the knowledge about copyright. 
I encountered this issue recently when we hosted an induction program for transition year students who were preparing to do a history project for their leaving certificate.  Their answer to 'where do you find information' was Wikipedia and Google.  Copyright was met with silence as we tried to show them the importance of research, sources and crediting.

The books that I read detailed at length the strengths of a good presenter, the abilities required to engage and to keep an audience interested and the importance of copyright in all its forms.  The pressure that these academics, business mentors and lecturers are under is shocking and still they have to deliver quality presentations that inspire and encourage the business leaders of the future.  These few posts made me consider the recent conferences that I've attended as part of the Alumni of NUI, Galway and the high profile guest speakers that have delivered presentations with timeless style and confidence.  I'm in awe of some of them, even the ones whose first language isn't English!

Conferences by their nature give people an opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and share/discuss new theories, management styles and sometimes legal issues that have had an impact on industry.  It gives you the opportunity to share your projects and your way of doing things to a wider audience and help develop your brand and your profession as a whole. 
I would encourage everyone to attend at least one conference a year (budget allowing of course) and start developing your network by sitting with someone who you don't know and introduce yourself - I recently did this at an accounting conference and met two really interesting ladies who were recent graduates of NUI, Galway and now working abroad.  They were most willing to engage and share their experiences with me, as I was with them.
I also make it my business to email presenters after a conference and thank them for their 'interesting presentation on.....' I normally receive a reply plus the PowerPoint notes that I can use for my CPD.

However, we can only do so much as librarians in relation to Copyright, we can ensure that what we do is within the legal parameters and we can advice people on what they can and cannot do.  We can't take responsibility for every citizen, we are there to inform, guide and encourage - that covers copyright, presentations and our attendance at conferences.