The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the largest division of the American Library Association, recently endorsed the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education. 

The Code of Best Practices was developed to offer guidance to educators at all levels who use copyrighted materials to teach media literacy skills. While the code’s primary audience is classroom teachers, librarians at all educational levels play a critical role in the media literacy education process. Librarians acquire the primary resources that are studied, and, when necessary, negotiate agreements with copyright holders to ensure the broadest permitted uses of these tools. Librarians also provide guidance on copyright and fair use issues related to the application of these tools in the classroom. The document assists librarians in understanding the needs of teaching colleagues and providing consistent guidance in fair use issues.