IFLA’s Governing Board has approved a new statement prepared by IFLA’s Advisory Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters. This sets out the risk of licensing practices for digital content undermining library practices and calls for action.

With the shift from analogue to digital content, libraries increasingly no longer own or hold local copies of the materials to which they provide access for their users.

This creates a contrast – a growth in the possibilities for access and use of materials, but at the same time, new possibilities to restrict or track usage. Indeed, the transition from physical to electronic copies even takes away the basic ability of libraries to choose what content they wish to acquire in the first place, within the limits of their budgets.

Particularly worrying practices include:

  • Refusals to licence, single-seat licensing, and a lack of transparency around pricing;
  • The override of limitations and exceptions to copyright that exist in law;
  • Use of ‘choice of jurisdiction’ clauses to apply foreign laws that restrict the possibilities open to libraries;
  • The imposition of unlimited liability on libraries for the actions of their users, as well as legitimate errors;
  • A lack of guarantees around the ongoing accessibility of content during the term of a licence;
  • The loss of access to previously licensed content if a library changes platforms or post-termination.

Arguably, this raises important questions about the nature and function of libraries in a digital age.

The new Statement therefore calls on governments to protect limitations and exceptions, as well as to look at how to ensure libraries benefit from effective protections against unfair contract terms and practices. It also makes the case for simple procedures for removing or circumventing technological protection measures that prevent libraries and their users from enjoying their rights under law.

It recommends that rightholders adopt good practices for fair contract negotiations and offer transparency, and urges libraries and library consortia to be proactive in discussions in order to maximise access and predictability.

The Statement complements IFLA’s High-Level Principles on Libraries and Copyright.