Transformative works, such as fan fiction and fanvids are a sticky subject for librarians. Should librarians provide access to and market these resources the way we market other library resources? If fair use can be confirmed, there’s no problem, but what of resources in the gray area? Certainly comsumer demand for transformative works exists—look at the success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Yet some brilliant transformative works sample proprietary works that are not in the public domain. What do we do about these? Case in point: Here’s a transformative work that reimagines The Big Lebowski, if it had been written by Shakespeare.
Brilliant? Clearly. Hilarious? Obviously! Cultural value? I think so!
Legal? …ummm…
What’s an ethical librarian to do?
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