Digital media, and the circulation of new digital formats, have changed the context in which libraries, museums, universities, and schools operate. Particularly, during the Covid-19 pandemic, institutions have had to adapt to remote service provision, which translated into a higher circulation of digital and digitised material available for public lending, research, private study, and more. During the pandemic and beyond, the unprecedented circulation of digital work posed copyright challenges, that have been addressed by national and EU-level legislation. Nevertheless, the challenge remains to fully transit public interest institutions into the digital era, and to do so in harmony with an EU-wide copyright legislation that is both relevant to digital formats and satisfactory for rightholders, users, and institutions.
In this context, and as input for the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026[1], the European Commission (DG CNECT) contracted Visionary Analytics to conduct a study on “Copyright in distance education and research: exploring the role of copyright in facilitating access to digital collections of libraries and other public interest institutions”. The study will inform policymaking by gaining insights into the role of copyright in facilitating access to digital collections of public interest institutions, such as libraries, for the purposes of distance education and research.
The team at Visionary Analytics is excited to develop this project, together with research consortium partners Ecorys, KEA, and OK Consulting. The aim will be to identify, assess, and analyse challenges and opportunities for public interest institutions to fulfill their missions in the digital age. In order to do so, the study will include a comprehensive mapping of the ecosystems involved, and will be implemented through case studies, desk research, and outreach activities such as interviews, survey and workshops, involving public interest institutions, rightholders, user associations, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders.
Stay tuned for updates on our research!
[1] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/60399/st15381-en22.pdf
