BFTP: Library murals - a pet peeve

I was once visiting one of our elementary libraries in my previous school district where I saw a sketch of a mural that was to be painted on one of the walls that summer. The main character was Mouse from Numeroff's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, illustrated by Felicia Bond. I asked the librarian if she had permission to use this character in the mural. She didn't know. I advised her to check.

Common characters from children's books are not uncommon to find painted on library and school walls. Do a GoogleImage search on "library murals" and you will find:

and

and

So what's the big deal? I just wonder how many of these schools and libraries got permission to use these copyrighted images? My guess is few or none.

Do we really need to worry that Theodore Geisel's heirs will starve since the estate won't be collecting royalties? Could this use of images be covered by "fair use" provisions? Does the larger goal of getting kids to read supersede intellectual property law?

All debatable, I suppose.

But such use bothers me for more pragmatic reasons...

1. What is the message about intellectual property use we are sending to students? It's OK to be a scofflaw? 
2. What is the message we are sending to parents about how our schools respect copyright law? Do you have parents in your district who make their living from their creative work?
3. Are we showing disrespect for our local talent in not using local artists to display their imaginative work? Could personal visual images of Harry Potter or Paul Bunyan or Jo March be as good an inducement for reading as Charlie Brown or Super Diaper Baby? Should we honor our local authors, artists, stories and legends? 

I love going to my schools where local artists have created some truly wonderful art for decorating the walls and hallways. 

or

or

I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that you have local talent that would put original, interesting, local images on your walls that would get kids excited about reading and respect copyright laws. 

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Original post June 4, 2013

Comments

[Lori June]

Or leave blank space to display student work!
That shows we respect and appreciate what they’re creating!

[Doug Johnson]

Thanks, Lori. Wonderful alternative!

Doug

[Elaine Carter]

I inherited a mural with characters from many children's books...and while it looks nice, it drives me insane because I know it should not be there. I said my piece (peace) when I first arrived on the scene and insist when pictures are taken in the library that the mural is not in focus. The current art teacher understands, but they don't listen to her either. She is a muralist and I would love for her to put something original up, or like Lori said, student work...