oct06c2.indd


Andy Bridges W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n e  

Possible revision to Copyright Act 
In spring 2005, the U.S. Copyright Offi ce and 
the Library of Congress formed a study group 
to investigate whether Section 108 of the 
Copyright Act should be updated, considering 
the increasing use of digital technologies and 
network­based resources. Thus far, the study 
group has focused on access to digital copies 
and two new exemptions addressing preserva­
tion­only copies and Web site harvesting. 

ALA and the Association of Research Librar­
ies (ARL) convened a meeting of digital pres­
ervation librarians as well as representatives 
from other library, museum, and archival as­
sociations to discuss these proposals in depth 
and develop a “white paper” that represents 
the library, museum, and archive stance on 
Section 108. The white paper—“The Libraries’ 
Position on Access and Digital Preservation: A 
Response to the Section 108 Study Group”—is 
now available on the ALA Washington Offi ce’s 
Copyright page (www.ala.org/ala/washoff 
/WOissues/copyrightb/copyright.htm), and 
ALA welcomes any additional feedback on 
the document from its members. 

Section 108 provides for libraries and ar­
chives to make reproductions of copyrighted 
works, under certain conditions, without 
seeking permission from the copyright holder. 
For example, libraries may photocopy journal 
articles and send these copies to other libraries 
through interlibrary loan. This section also al­
lows libraries to make copies for preservation 
and replacement purposes. 

With the rapid growth of modern technolo­
gies, including the rise of the Internet and the 
spread of digitization, potential modifi cation 
to Section 108 could include: 

• Provisions for preserving documents and 
Web sites that were created in digital form or 
“born digital”; 

• New parameters for off­site access to 
digital replacement copies; 

Andy Bridges is communications specialist at ALA’s 
Washington Offi  ce, e-mail: abridges@alawash.org 

• Provisions for making replacement or pres­
ervation copies of items that are “at risk”; 

• Revisiting the scope of institutions eligible 
for Section 108 exceptions. 

While these issues are of the utmost impor­
tance, ALA and ARL, after their in­depth meet­
ing with experts, do not believe that signifi cant 
changes to the Section 108 statute are neces­
sary at this time. It’s true that technological 
innovation is driving changes in institutional 
roles and the development of new practices 
and standards. But, given the pace and breadth 
of change and what is at stake, ALA and ARL 
believe the best approach to be the reaffi rma­
tion of the fundamental rights and responsibili­
ties of libraries; i.e., to preserve and provide 
access to the evolving cultural and intellectual 
record and to provide a legal environment that 
enables the development of professional and 
institutional practices necessary to accomplish 
this mission on behalf of society. 

Further, should Congress determine that 
such changes to Section 108 are necessary, 
ALA and ARL note that experience has shown 
that flexibility in copyright law is critical, es­
pecially in a time of rapid technological and 
organizational change. 

With that in mind, ALA and ARL are rec­
ommending caution in the revision of Section 
108. The potential for making mistakes in these 
early days of network­based resources is high. 
In summary, their recommendations are: 

• eliminate the three­copy limit currently 
part of the preservation and replacement ex­
emptions and replace it with the language “a 
limited number of copies as reasonably neces­
sary for the permitted purposes,” and 

• enable remote access to digital preser­
vation and replacement copies with minimal 
restrictions that match the terms and condi­
tions that existed when the original copies 
were acquired. 

If you have feedback you would like to 
provide regarding the ALA/ARL white paper, 
please contact Carrie Russell, ALA copyright 
specialist, at crussell@alawash.org. 

C&RL News October 2006  576 

mailto:crussell@alawash.org
mailto:abridges@alawash.org
www.ala.org/ala/washoff