Sara Benson Named Fellow and Representative

Copyright Librarian, Sara Benson, of the Scholarly Communications and Publishing Unit at the University Library, was recently named Senior Policy Advisor for the American Library Association (ALA) Public Policy and Advocacy Fellow. Benson has also been named the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Representative to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). 

Benson’s role as fellow with the ALA’s Public Policy and Advocacy office will give advice and guidance to the ALA on federal copyright policy and digital licensing policy and advocacy. She will also be part of a team concentrating on creating ALA’s planned direction on copyright and licensing.

Remarking on being named Public Policy and Advocacy (PPA) Fellow, Benson said, “I am excited to work with the ALA to conduct research and engage in advocacy on the future of digital copyright for libraries and the public interest.”

More information about her appointment can be found in this Press Release from ALA News.

In addition to being named an ALA PPA fellow, Benson was also named as an IFLA Representative to the WIPO SCCR. The SCCR was created to examine significant law issues concerning copyright and related rights on a global scale. This committee includes all member states of WIPO, which consists of over 190 countries. This committee makes recommendations to the WIPO General Assembly or Diplomatic Conferences.

“I will be attending my first SCCR meeting this spring in Geneva, and I am excited to learn how to advocate for libraries at the international level through WIPO,” Benson stated.

There is no doubt that Sara Benson will achieve fantastic results with these two positions, and we look forward to her future accomplishments with these organizations.

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