Elizabeth R. Scheffler Appointed Director, Office of Public Records and Repositories
Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante has appointed Elizabeth R. “Liz” Scheffler to the position of Director, Office of Public Records and Repositories, United States Copyright Office, effective March 2014. Pallante created the position as part of a larger effort to reallocate resources to areas of critical importance and to develop technical standards and capabilities that will, in the long run, make the Copyright Office more interoperable with, and responsive to, the global marketplace.
“Liz is will be a key member of our senior leadership,” said Pallante, “and I couldnÂt be happier. She has considerable experience in records management, facilities, technology, and government partnerships, as well as an impressive history of bringing complex projects to completion–she’s a natural entrepreneur.”
Scheffler will develop and direct all staffing and activities within the Office of Public Records and Repositories, overseeing significant databases of copyright ownership and related information, as well as the protocols, preservation, and security of works that are entrusted to the Copyright Office for copyright registration. Her work will build upon a number of special projects, completed in 2013, in which the Copyright Office engaged the greater copyright community to discuss its future focus. Among other things, Scheffler will explore the feasibility of implementing international identification codes for content, metadata standards for licensing terms, and the development of APIs and other applications to facilitate the interaction of data between public and private registries. She will also build upon efforts to reengineer the copyright recordation function, so that those who record (or consult) licensing information, assignments, and security interests would have the legal benefits and efficiencies of an integrated electronic system. Professor Robert Brauneis–who is currently Abraham Kaminstein Scholar in Residence in the Office of the RegisterÂhas been heading up the research, public meetings, and recommendations on this front.
I welcome this opportunity to support the U.S. Copyright Office, the international creative industries, and the public,” said Scheffler. “The Register and her team have set out an exciting vision for the future, and I am really looking forward to the work.”
Scheffler is no stranger to the Copyright Office, having served as Chief of Operations from 2008 to 2011. She was most recently Director of Integrated Support Services at the Library of Congress, and has held senior positions with the National Ocean Service of NOAA and the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, respectively. At the Smithsonian, she led financial and operational programs, including exhibits planning and production; grants and gift management; business and revenue operations; federal, state, and local government relations; and building management. She was instrumental in the construction and opening of the National Air and Space Museum-Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near the Washington Dulles International Airport.
Scheffler holds duel bachelor’s degrees in business and accounting, as well as a masterÂs degree in information systems management from the University of Maryland University College. She earned a certificate in Federal Financial Management from George Washington University. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland University College, where she teaches senior-level accounting research and federal financial management.