Digital access rights management in the information systems of e-libraries and digital archives

Abstract

The author reviews the basic types of digital document content protection from unauthorized access and dissemination applied by publishers and book trading companies. The principles of digital rights management (DRM) while accessing digital documents. The author suggests that DRM systems are efficient to be applied to certain types and formats of digital documents in libraries and archives. He also reviews several commercial solutions for DRM-systems plied to the most popular PDF-format and substantiates the importance of DRM-systems standardization for digital document friendliness both for the users and rights holders disseminating digital publications. Existing and newly introduced international standards for DRM-systems are discussed. The typology of digital rights protection software as provided for by the standards is presented along with regulated DRM-system features based on data coding. Readium project by international non-profit Readium Foundation exemplifies standard approach to DRM-system design. The project goal is to develop software modules to integrate standard DRM-technology into computer information systems including ALIS.