In a fast-moving digital environment, librarians in developing and transition countries need to be informed about legislative and policy developments concerning copyright and related issues in order to best serve their library users.
To meet this professional need, the Copyright and Libraries programme (known as EIFL-IP) produces a wide range of resources including practical guides, handbooks, checklists and templates on topical copyright issues that affect libraries. Our materials are open access, available online and have been translated into many languages.
• We have produced a range of easy-to-read resources for librarians including practical guides & checklists and policy statements on current library copyright issues, that are available in multiple languages.
• Our highly regarded curriculum, Copyright for Librarians (CFL), was developed jointly with Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and is available online in nine languages. We have also published a handbook in English based on the course, which is available as a free download and for purchase on print-on-demand.
• The EIFL Draft Law on Copyright (2016) is a practical guide to assist librarians, as well as their legal advisors and policy-makers, when national laws are being updated. We also jointly developed a draft treaty on copyright limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives (known as TLIB) to assist with discussions at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to establishes basic global standards for library activities and equal treatment of digital and print resources.
• Our two guides to the Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities: The Marrakesh Treaty: an EIFL Guide for Libraries (available in nine languages), which introduces the treaty and its key provisions, and Getting Started. Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty for persons with print disabilities. A practical guide for librarians (five languages) have been viewed more than 5,500 times on the EIFL website.
We encourage librarians and the public at large to use, distribute, translate, modify, and add to all our resources.
Browse the full range of EIFL Copyright resources by clicking on the button below.
What makes Copyright for Librarians so special – and so uniquely valuable – is that it puts reliable guidance in the framework of a broader analysis of copyright policy, focusing attention on the role that librarians can play. As the book makes clear, library patrons benefit from national laws that balance protection and access, and librarians can help assure that their own national legislation fits this description. This is a book that everyone concerned with the future of libraries everywhere will want to consult again and again in the years to come.
EIFL has developed over 185 copyright resources in 15 languages.
EIFL’s Copyright for Librarians - the first open educational resource on copyright for librarians in developing and transition countries - is available online in nine languages and in multiple formats.