Librarians, En Garde! - Rachel Nash's Librarian I Portfolio

Nash | 9should not “override statutory exceptions and limitations supporting library activities.” 42 It isevident that the limitations database licenses try to enforce are unacceptable if librarians are tocontinue providing adequate access to resources for the purpose of furthering the cause ofresearch. Thus, libraries should carefully select their resources, and vehemently maintain that therights provided by the first sale doctrine apply in full force to digital sources.Rights traditionally granted by copyright legislation in the analog world are increasinglyunder attack in the digital world. In the United States, Congress has allowed those who hold therights to intellectual property to decide the terms of copyright law, 43 which has upset the balanceof rights it once maintained. 44 This imbalance will continue to decrease the effectiveness oflibraries in the future if the benefits and rights historically guaranteed are not restored to currentand future generations of libraries and other intellectual property users. Libraries have aresponsibility to support the right of their patrons to access information. If librarians are tosucceed in meeting this responsibility in the digital age, they must stand firm in protecting theirown traditional rights that they’ve taken for granted for centuries, 45 in order to ensure thecontinued progression of education, creativity, and research in the United States andinternationally, in the year 2009 and beyond.42 Electronic Information for Libraries, International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and LibraryCopyright Alliance, Statement of Principles on Copyright Exceptions and Limitations for Libraries and Archives, 6.43 Lessig, Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity, 123-126.44 Litman, Digital Copyright, 115.45 Lessig, Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy, 107.