Grand Librarian Message April

Dear Brethren,

Just a word or two about borrowing books from the Grand Lodge Library.

Where we have only one copy of a particular book, it will not be available for loan as it is the Library’s reference copy. However, they will be available for loan if we have multiple copies of a book.

Borrowers must be bona fide members of a WA Lodge. Up to 2 books at a time may be borrowed for 4 weeks; if the book is not returned after 4 weeks, a further 2 weeks’ grace will be given, and after that, an invoice for the cost of the book will be sent to the borrower’s Lodge Secretary.

We encourage you to use our Library – if you need an extension to a book’s loan period, please contact the Library (grandlibrarian@freemasonswa.org.au) and ask for an extension; if there is no one wanting to borrow that book, an extension will usually be granted.

A word about copyright. What does copyright protect? Copyright provides legal protection for people who express original ideas and information in certain forms. The most common forms are writing, visual images, music and moving images. Copyright does not protect ideas or information, only the original expression of ideas or information.

Copyright does not prevent someone else from independently producing the same work. Copyright does not usually protect names and titles, as these are not considered original enough. (https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/copyright/copyright-basics)

So if you are carrying out some personal research, be sure always to acknowledge the work of others. In academic and other circles, plagiarism is a dirty word. In the spirit of our copyright laws, as the paragraph above has been cut and pasted from the Attorney General’s website, it is acknowledged by citing the AG’s web page’s URL.

We are building up a collection of VSLs. We currently have the King James Bible, the Torah, the Koran, the Geneva Bible, the Ethiopian Bible, and the Bhagavad Gita. So we are looking to add copies of the Douai-Rheims Bible, the Avesta and VSLs of other faiths, too – if a Lodge or a Brother wants to make such a donation, please contact the Grand Librarian.

Happy Reading,

WBro David Shearer
Grand Librarian