2008.04.15 - Many countries, one goal: Access to Knowledge

PRESS RELEASE
April 15, 2008

Advocacy for Access to Knowledge: copyright and libraries
eIFL-IP global conference, Istanbul, Turkey, 4-5 April 2008

Istanbul is the only city in the world to straddle two continents, Europe and Asia. Separated by the Bosphorus Strait, a major trading route, the historic city combines two distinct traditions reflected in the architectural masterpieces of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia. Istanbul was chosen for its strategic location for the first global conference of eIFL copyright librarians. Participants from forty eIFL member countries in Africa, central, eastern and south-east Europe, the Middle East, former Soviet Union, Mongolia and south-east Asia spent two days updating their knowledge and sharing experiences on the policy and practice of copyright law.

“This was the first time that everyone met as a group”, said Teresa Hackett, eIFL-IP Programme Manager. “Of course, there are regional and national differences, but as librarians we have one common goal, to provide access to knowledge to the students, researchers, professionals and citizens who use our libraries. This means that we must ensure that there is a balance between copyright protections and access to copyrighted works”.

The first day focused on practical issues faced by librarians in their daily work, such as copyright and library services and the role of copyright in digitisation projects. The second day looked at international policy issues and advocacy, especially recent developments at the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva.

“The influence of U.S. copyright law goes far beyond its shores”, commented Jonathan Band, legal counsel for the U.S. based Library Copyright Alliance. “Librarians in developing and transition countries who find themselves confronted with the possibility of higher standards of copyright protections through bi-lateral trade agreements, for example, should know about the U.S. doctrine of fair use and insist that it also be included in their law”.

One of the modules in the library copyright curriculum being developed by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, in partnership with eIFL, deals with exceptions and limitations. The draft curriculum was presented by Berkman Fellow, Melanie Dulong de Rosnay to gather comments and feedback from the community.

The conference was characterised by questions and lively discussion and everyone - participants and speakers - learnt from each other.

“I gained an extraordinary insight into the problems faced by colleagues in developing nations and countries in transition. There is a real need for librarians working in often extremely difficult contexts, to know more about the practical application of copyright as an enabler, rather than a barrier, to access. Librarians working with the copyright framework in the most developed systems would find themselves challenged in such circumstances”, said Laurence Bebbington, Law Librarian and Information Services Copyright Officer at the University of Nottingham in the UK.

“The presentation on international policy developments added a new dimension to IP issues for me”, said Aleksandra Xhamo, Albania. “In the coming days, I will share the knowledge gained from the conference with the library community during Armenian Library Week”, commented Hasmik Galstyan, Armenia. Awa Ndoye from Senegal said “This was my first eIFL-IP conference, and it gave me a new perspective on copyright and libraries. I strongly believe in the development of libraries and in protecting library interests”.

"I have known eIFL for a couple of years and have witnessed the significant development of its activities at the international level in particular”, said Ahmed Abdel Latif, Programme Manager - Intellectual Property at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD). “Through eIFL, librarians from developing and transition countries have played an important part in discussions on a Development Agenda for WIPO, demonstrating their role as effective stakeholders in Geneva and beyond”.

eIFL.net is grateful to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for supporting the eIFL-IP global conferences in 2008 and 2009.

Further information:
Rima Kupryte, Director
Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL)
c/o ADN Kronos, Piazza Mastai 9
00153 Rome, Italy
Tel: +(39)(06)5807216/17
E-mail: info[at]eifl.net
www.eifl.net

Notes for Editors

eIFL
eIFL.net is an international foundation, which supports national library consortia in more than forty-five transition and developing countries to negotiate and advocate for the wide availability of electronic resources to education, research and professional communities as well as governmental organisations and civil society. This global network embraces millions of users in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.

Tides Foundation
Support for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grant was provided by the Stichting eIFL.net Fund of the Tides Foundation, supporting progressive social change.
www.tides.org