Joint media release
SCONUL: The Society of College, National and University Libraries
CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
News 21/02/03
SCONUL: The Society of College, National and University Libraries; the Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance (LACA); and CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals were pivotal in preventing amendments to the EU Public Sector Information Directive - which were set to shake the financial and intellectual foundations of academic and cultural life, in the UK and beyond.
The Directive enables individuals or companies to obtain - at low cost and for commercial exploitation - all information held by any body in receipt of public funds. Successful lobbying in 2002 persuaded the European Commission to exempt educational and cultural institutions.
In 2003, Dutch MEP, Wim van Velzen (rapporteur of the relevant parliamentary committee) attempted to abolish that landmark exemption. SCONUL, LACA and CILIP reiterated the arguments with committee MEPs, resulting in Mr van Velzen withdrawing his amendment before the vote on 28 January. The exemptions were retained.
"Universities and national libraries, as public sector bodies, would suffer immeasurably if they had to give away the information they create or assemble. They simply couldn't function if their new discoveries, once recorded, had to be surrendered for commercial exploitation by others" says SCONUL Secretary, Toby Bainton. Academic and cultural bodies throughout Europe are being weaned off state support, with UK universities receiving less than half their income from the funding councils. The rest is earned, often from the information they create. Preventing such activity would deplete the incentive for innovation, and drive these institutions (likewise museums and galleries) further into dependence on government funding.
Barbara Stratton, CILIP's Copyright Adviser and Secretary to LACA, says "The rights of cultural and educational establishments as 'creators' are laid down by international conventions and agreements from the Berne Convention onwards - and by the European Union's own Directives concerning copyright and database rights. We've avoided not only an unworkable situation, but huge legal conflict."
SCONUL - among the first to grasp the wide significance of the Directive - sent over 150 campaigning letters and e-mails in January alone, on behalf of higher education librarians and national libraries. These and other library efforts - co-operatively with the National Museum Directors Conference; the Museums Copyright Group; and the wider university community - ensured that educational and cultural institutions can breathe again.
For further information, please contact
Toby Bainton, SCONUL
Tel: 020 7387 0317 Fax: 020 7383 3197
Email: toby.bainton@sconul.ac.uk
Tim Owen, CILIP
Tel: 020 7255 0652 Fax: 020 7255 0501
Email: tim.owen@cilip.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- Relevant previous EU Directives: 2001/29/EC on the harmonisation of copyright and related rights in the information society, and 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases.
- SCONUL promotes excellence in library services in higher education and national libraries across the UK and Ireland. Its 164 members are the institutions whose libraries it represents, and its activities are conducted primarily by the heads of library services.
- CILIP is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers, with around 23,500 members working in all sectors.