libraries and incredible resource for the communities they serve however the digital age has left many questioning write an article in about 150 words discussing the importance of libraries
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Answer:
Libraries are keenly aware of the need to maintain the balance between protecting the rights of authors and safeguarding the wider public interest. Copyright exceptions, which are currently under discussion in WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), form an integral part of national copyright systems. They play an essential role in enabling the delivery of library services to the public and in achieving the copyright system’s goals of encouraging creativity and learning. This article explores the enduring importance of libraries and some of the intellectual property-related challenges they face.
Libraries represent different things to different people – from a place where mothers can take toddlers to read their first stories and students can study, to a service allowing anyone to borrow a book, access the Internet or do research. Quite simply, libraries offer a means by which we can gain access to knowledge.
Supporting education
Libraries are synonymous with education and offer countless learning opportunities that can fuel economic, social and cultural development. The inspiring story of William Kamkwamba from Malawi underlines the difference a library can make. Having borrowed a book about windmills from his local library, Mr. Kamkwamba learned how to build an energy-producing turbine for his village. On the strength of this experience he went on to study at a leading US university. That one book not only changed his life; it also transformed the lives of those in his village community. Such stories explain why many countries are eager to ensure that libraries continue to provide access to knowledge, learning and ideas.
In addition to lending books, libraries are also involved in copying materials for research or private study purposes. Students cannot afford to buy every book, or pay for every television broadcast or journal they need to access for their studies. They therefore rely on the services of a library.
The exceptions and limitations that are an integral part of many national copyright systems play a critically important role in enabling libraries to deliver such services. For example, they allow libraries to make copies on behalf of students and others for research or study purposes, of works that might not otherwise be directly accessible to them. Libraries also make interlibrary loans possible, providing local access to materials that normally reside in a library hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away.
Just five years ago, applying the concept of interlibrary loans to digital works was problematic. However, with the widespread availability of electronic platforms that effortlessly control access to content, such as iTunes and Kindle, and the expansion of electronic interlibrary loans by some research libraries – although there is still some way to go in discussion with publishers – this is no longer the insurmountable problem it may have appeared to be a few years ago.
Preserving Cultural Heritage
Recognizing the cultural importance of sharing, Mahatma Gandhi said that, “no culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive”. The stimulus to share and reuse information and knowledge comes in many guises. Perhaps the most deep-rooted of our human instincts is the desire to preserve our culture for future generations. This is one of the most important functions of libraries.
Libraries are rich repositories of historically and culturally significant collections, many of which are not available anywhere else in the world. Without an appropriate copyright exception, a library could not preserve or replace a damaged work while it is still covered by copyright. For example, it could not lawfully copy or digitize an old newspaper or a unique sound recording to preserve it. Without appropriate library exceptions, this cultural heritage would be lost to future generations.
Today, many works are only “born digital”, such as websites or electronic journals, and are unavailable in print format. Without the legal means to preserve and replace works in a variety of media and formats – including format shifting and migrating electronic content from obsolete storage formats – many of these works will inevitably be lost to future generations of historians.