[A2k] Press release: World Book and Copyright Day 2009: Statement by eIFL Librarians

[Teresa Hackett (eIFL)]

2009-04-23 - World Book and Copyright Day 2009: Statement by eIFL
Librarians on Users=92 Rights for Libraries, Education and Development

PRESS RELEASE
April 23, 2009
Embargo to 6pm BST 22.04.09

At the Second Global eIFL-IP conference in Istanbul in March 2009,
librarians from thirty-nine developing and transition countries decided
to highlight the importance of users=92 rights for libraries and education
to mark the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day on April 23rd,
2009. Sponsored by UNESCO, World Book and Copyright Day seeks to
=93promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property
through copyright=94. For libraries, and the people who use libraries, it
is the exceptions and limitations to the legal protections granted to
rightsholders that provide the basic mechanism for access to copyrighted
content.

One of the greatest resources for development is the human resource.
Libraries build capacity by providing quality learning support services
to educational institutions and by promoting information literacy for
lifelong learning. Copyright exceptions and limitations are critical to
meeting the library mission to support learning and research, promote
free expression and the flow of information in society and to preserve
cultural and scientific heritage for future generations. Exceptions and
limitations are important to libraries everywhere, but they are of
critical importance to developing and transition countries whose
capacity to access knowledge is crucial to their social and economic
development.

=93The role of librarians is to protect and promote access to knowledge
and learning materials=94, said Rilwanu Abdulsalami, Deputy University
Librarian at Kaduna State University in Nigeria. =93One of the key ways to
achieve this is through well designed exceptions and limitations. Where
the law is inadequate and needs to be changed, we will advocate for that
change.=94

=93Many countries, such as Moldova, are updating their copyright laws=94,
added Mariana Harjevschi from the Public Law Library in Moldova. =93It is
important that the library community is involved in the process and is
able to advocate effectively so that any amendments reflect the public
interest and the real needs of Moldovan libraries and the people who use
our libraries=94.

"Librarians need to constantly update their knowledge on copyright
issues by participating in both local and international fora. They
should use this knowledge to educate library users on their rights in
national copyright law. Librarians should form strong partnerships with
related organisations, such as UNESCO, and should promote their support
for balanced copyright laws to other stakeholders, such as publishers",
said Valentina Bannerman, President of the Ghana Library Association.

"The participation of librarians from developing countries through eIFL
and IFLA at meetings of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and
Related Rights (SCCR) is crucial. WIPO member countries need to hear
about the needs of libraries first-hand so that they address these
issues in their national laws. Without adequate limitations and
exceptions in national laws, the knowledge and digital divides will just
keep getting wider", added Denise Nicholson, Copyright Services
Librarian at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

Read the statement online:
http://www.eifl.net/cps/sections/docs/ip_docs/world-book-copyright-day

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: rima.kupryte[at]eifl.net
www.eifl.net

Notes for Editors

eIFL.net
eIFL.net is an international foundation, which supports national library
consortia in approximately fifty 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.

eIFL.net participating countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, China,
Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Kosova,
Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali,
Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestine, Poland,
Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland,
Syria, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe.