<
https://www.techdirt.com/2022/06/01/not-fit-for-purpose-libraries-explain-how-copyright-failed-libraries-during-the-pandemic/>
"It’s no secret that copyright and libraries are often in conflict with one
another. We’ve pointed out repeatedly how modern publishers would never allow
libraries to come into existence if they weren’t here already. The publishers
have made that clear by trying to sue out of existence all sorts of things that
appear to be indistinguishable from libraries, including the Internet Archive.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
recently released a research report based on a survey of over 100 libraries
worldwide, exploring whether or not copyright laws got in the way of libraries
being libraries during the pandemic, and the answer was a resounding “yes!”
In short, it appears that libraries
repeatedly found copyright getting in the
way of doing basic, fundamental, library-related tasks, in part because
attempts to go online during the pandemic were blocked by publishers who want
to believe everything digital must be licensed at all times. 83% of libraries
surveyed pointed out that they had “copyright-related challenges” during the
pandemic.
One of the most troubling parts of this was that libraries that serve schools
found that they could not do what they would have had every right to do in
person, because of the publishers’ views of how the internet and licensing
works."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
