Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

<b>Carson, Bryan M.</b> <i>The Law of Libraries and Archives.</i> Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 2007. 395p. alk. paper, $65 (ISBN 081085189). LC 2006-20318.

2008; Association of College and Research Libraries; Volume: 69; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5860/crl.69.1.83

2150-6701

Nancy McCormack,

Legal Systems and Judicial Processes

Picture this scenario: your library has been offered the chance to buy a valuable first edition from the collection of another library.The sale price is $100,000.You decline-graciously, of course.A week later, however, you learn from a confidential source that the book's actual worth is $1.5 million-much more than the seller was asking of you.On the basis of this new information, you call up the other library and say that you've changed your mind and have now decided to buy the aforesaid book.Is that library obliged to sell it to you?Or, what if, hypothetically, you had accepted the original off er and then the other library, discovering the true value of the edition, had refused to go through with the agreed-upon sale?Does your library have a legal claim?What are the other library's legal obligations?Chances are, not many librarians will encounter this kind of problem.The scenarios that are likely to occur in libraries where the majority of us work are of a much more mundane sort.Take, for example, the roofing company that tells you, on the day they are to begin replacing the leaky roof of your library, that they will be too busy to do the work, as promised.Your library is forced to find another contractor who can't begin work until February.Sadly, in January, the roof leaks worse than ever and water runs into the shelves, ruining a particular collection of books.Are you entitled to sue the first roofing company that refused to do the work?If so, what kind of money could you expect to collect if you won?The above examples, from Bryan M. Carson's The Law of Library and Archives, illustrate the types of issues that have legal consequences for a library.This book, in addition to making splendid reading, is