Digital libraries and Copyright: The Library of Congress calls for changes in Copyright law

The Library of Congress in a new report “National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program” laid out several plans for the future, including increased advocacy for changes in copyright law and digital-preservation tax incentives for private institutions. It also outlined steps taken so far to foster more robust digital preservation projects nationwide—particularly the establishment of the National Digital Stewardship Alliance last year.

According to the report, the Library of Congress plans to explore several ways to create more incentives for institutions, public and private, to undertake digital preservation.

To that end, the Library of Congress seeks to work with Congress and the U.S. Copyright Office to implement recommendations of the NDIIPP-cosponsored Section 108 Study Group Report released in 2008. Section 108 of the Copyright Act allows libraries to make copies of copyrighted works for preservation purposes, but it has a limited scope due in part to its creation in a pre-digital age. The study group report recommends ways to ease the U.S. Copyright Act restrictions, including providing a Section 108 exception for museums as well as libraries.