It was a long journey to get to this point. There were challenges and successes, cross-cultural learning, new friendships and incredible growth.

These were just some of the sentiments shared at the 2014 General Assembly (GA), as librarians, publishers, staff and invited speakers came together to mark EIFL’s 15th anniversary in Istanbul, Turkey.

“We have challenges, a lot of challenges in Kenya,” says Dr. Bessie Mukami, a general physician who serves at Embu General Provincial Hospital, a relatively large teaching hospital on the outskirts of the town of Embu in eastern Kenya.

“You have, maybe, one doctor to 10,000 people.”

In many countries, textbooks on particular areas of law such as criminal, constitutional or contract law become classics that are widely regarded by policy makers, lawyers and scholars alike as the authoritative source of information and opinion on the subject.

In Poland, the most prestigious work on copyright law is arguably ‘Copyright’, Volume 13 from the series ‘System of Private Law’ edited by Prof. Janusz Barta (in Polish: Prawo autorskie. System Prawa Prywatnego).

In retrospect the clouds hovering above the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva look ominous (see photo for our news item on the 2014 WIPO General Assemblies).

EIFL was participating in the General Assemblies, WIPO’s main policy and decision-making bodies that took place from September 22 to 30, 2014.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), short courses that are delivered online for free, are said to be taking the academic world by storm. Thousands of courses in many languages are on offer from top universities all over the world.

One such offering is Copyright for Educators & Librarians, launched in 2014 by Duke University in the US. The aim of the course is to ‘begin to demystify the law and help educators and librarians do their jobs more effectively’.

EIFL has released a new video which shows the impact of an EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) supported project that uses tablet computers to support children’s education in Kibera, the largest slum in Eastern Africa.

In a disagreement that split mainly along north-south lines, the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) failed for the second time this year to reach agreement on the conclusions of the session, and also couldn’t agree on the all-important recommendations to WIPO’s General Assemblies that meet in September.

While some progress was made in the discussion on limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives in the digital environment, and India became the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty, it was another disappointing end to the week.

Two representatives from EIFL joined a 16-strong international team representing 11 library and organizations spanning Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and the United States at WIPO's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) that took place in Geneva from 28 April - 2 May 2014.

To celebrate UNESCO's World Book and Copyright Day on 23 April 2014, and WIPO's World IP Day on 26 April 2014 – we asked librarians in EIFL partner countries what they wish for copyright today.

Read what librarians in Armenia, Latvia, Botswana, Kenya, Estonia, Russia, Uzbekistan, Uganda, Kyrgyzstan, Senegal, Mongolia, Poland, Ghana and Nigeria said.

Download the flyer.

Libraries in EIFL partner countries perform a vital role getting reading and other materials into the hands of people who need information and knowledge for education, research, health or leisure. The seven point plan submitted by EIFL in response to the (ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2013/copyright-rules/index_en.htm) European Commission's Public Consultation on the review of EU copyright rules highlights some issues that libraries want to see addressed.