I've been employed at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, for over 25 years. Most of that time has been spent with the US Copyright Office, in the Cataloging Division. I'm not qualified to speak in an official capacity regarding copyright issues--basic questions will be answered at the Copyright Office web site and many copyright publications are available there. And if that isn't quite helpful enough, it also provides the appropriate contact information for speaking to a real and very knowledgeable person.

I can talk about what I do, though! I'm a member of the Arts Section of the Copyright Cataloging Division, working specifically with visual arts. The Visual Arts Team catalogs a wide variety of both published and unpublished works, including maps, fabric, toys, and jewelry in addition to the items which more frequently come to mind when one thinks of works of art. We handle many very interesting items representing the broad spectrum of American creativity. My job is to provide an accurate on-line record of works being registered for copyright protection, and to revise records created by other catalogers on the team. In the event that we hire additional staff, I may also participate in their training.

If this doesn't sound very complicated, you'd be astonished at the large quantity of rules I'm expected to be familiar with! There are rules to cover many cataloging situations, and good judgement (hopefully) takes care of anything that isn't specifically addressed in the rule books. Of course, cataloging style varies from individual to individual, so records can vary as well and still be correct.

Following rules may not be particularly exciting, but I'm always fascinated by the quality of the artwork that comes into our office for registration. So much of it is awesome. Not being an artist myself doesn't keep me from appreciating someone else's talent. That and the variety of the deposits keep the job from becoming too routine. And there's always something new--recently we've begun receiving ... web pages!