Abstract
The author critically examines the evolution of open access libraries from the TULIP project (1991) to more recent developments. At the same time, he emphasises the role of libraries as key agents of national book policies through Public Lending Rights. After having shown the difference between the scholarly communication and the book chains, both in printed and digital form, the author points to the position that libraries hold on the distribution segment of the chains and how they are unable to turn power relations among actors to their own advantage.
 If content if king, organisations distributing content are normally king-makers, as the example of STM publishers clearly shows. Nevertheless, fragmentation and the assumption that what is good for libraries is also good for users do not allow libraries to understand the needs of the different stakeholders present in the value chain and provide appropriate services to them. This aspect is emphasised further in the book trade, where libraries have been hesitant in realising the economic foundation of copyright regulations which consists of trading off “the costs of limiting access to a work against the benefits of providing incentives to create the work in the first place” (Landes & Posner).
 After having examined library copyright strategies both in the book trade and in scholarly communication with a thorough discussion on (e-)lending and controlled digital lending, the author claims that copyright regulations are not written in the sky but on a solid foundation of economic forces which shape the book and information chains. Libraries’ strategies should aim to reinforce their relevance in the distribution segment and demonstrate their ability to provide services to all actors in the value chain. This role should also impact on the normalisation of library-publisher relations.
Highlights
In all their daily activities, European libraries come across a number of copyright dilemmas
Namely those generated from the recent approval of the 2019/790 Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market (European Union, 2019), show that a new library attitude going beyond traditional advocacy arguments is needed, both at national and European level
If you consider that the Danish publishing turnover as a whole was worth DKK 1,691m in 2019 (€ 227,106,600) (Danish Publishers, 2019), it is easy to infer that Public Lending Right (PLR) accounts for 10.6% of the Danish book trade – a percentage which would be almost tripled, if expenditure for library acquisitions is taken into account
Summary
In all their daily activities, European libraries come across a number of copyright dilemmas. One may wonder whether their prejudicial attitude against licensing established a sub optimal role of libraries within the book and information chains and inhibited the ability to set up a sound economic foundation for their future copyright strategies There was another aspect of the TULIP project which was going to have dramatic consequences for the role of libraries in the information distribution chain. After TULIP, Elsevier withdrew from locating a physical copy of its journal database on each campus and tightened control over a data bank of articles deposited in a central server set up by the publisher itself This business model was to become standard in scholarly communication, extended to commercial open access publications. We shall see the consequences of this decision for library copyright strategies as well as for library policies
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