“IFLA has responded to a call for comments on the South African Copyright Amendment Bill, highlighting the need to reject proposals that will have a chilling effect on the work of libraries, and deepen divisions in terms of access to education, knowledge and culture.”
“Stichting IFLA Foundation is delighted to receive a €3m Arcadia grant to launch the new Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21) programme to promote access to knowledge for study, research and cultural life in Europe….
KR21 will be advocating for a 21st century copyright environment across Europe that is friendly to the modern delivery and use of education and research materials as well as the spread of culture and heritage in the digital age.
With a focus on evidence and capacity building, our goal is to achieve and implement reforms to copyright law and practice that enable knowledge institutions to provide unhindered access to copyright works for education and research purposes….”
A joint submission by IFLA and the Uganda Library and Information Association to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review outlines key developments and ways that libraries work to support the fundamental rights to education, health, and work in Uganda, and how more could be done.
The Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Library Publishing Special Interest Group (LibPub SIG) have partnered to survey the landscape of publishing in libraries across the globe. LPC is seeking submissions for its 9th annual Library Publishing Directory. IFLA’s LibPub SIG has created a first-of-its-kind Map of global library publishing initiatives. Together, we invite you to share information about your library’s publishing activities.
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Empowering research by connecting libraries and facilitating access to knowledge; the international HERMES project responds with research, training, and brand new software.
The key theme of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda is “Leaving No-one Behind”; the pandemic has highlighted the urgency of addressing disproportionate barriers and disparities that various minority groups are experiencing.
“In response to the emergency, in a very short time a group of librarians under the auspices of IFLA created “Resource Sharing during COVID-19″ (RSCVD https://rscvd.org/): the first experiment in free digital sharing of bibliographic resources worldwide.
RSCVD has been based on the voluntary contributions of a hundred librarians around the world, who worked with the tools available at the time to share documents from their libraries with the global academic community.
After a very successful first reaction to the COVID emergency, the time was ripe to put in place an action capable of creating long-lasting impacts. This is what : a group of library experts have done in conceiving of the HERMES project, which will provide an opportunity to facilitate the work of librarians around the world by addressing the challenges COVID has created or intensified….
HERMES will produce open source software, strictly open educational materials and free training courses for librarians, university students and researchers in order to provide high quality, fast and free access to knowledge through the development of specific skills on the topic of digital resource sharing….”
“IFLA has endorsed the WikiLibrary Manifesto, aimed at connecting libraries and Wikimedia projects such as Wikibase in order to promote the dissemination of knowledge in open formats, especially in linked open data networks….”
“EIFL and IFLA (the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) have called on the Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to extend international trade law measures which reduce burdens on the poorest countries, and allow them to set regulatory frameworks for copyright to enable their libraries to support education, research and cultural participation….
The meeting, that takes place on 10-11 March 2021, will discuss, among other issues, a request by Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to extend an exemption for LDCs from implementing the substantive obligations for protection and enforcement of IP rights, including copyright, in the TRIPS Agreement….
For the library community, it [extending the exemption] would have the practical effect of enabling governments freely to craft modern copyright exceptions to maximize possibilities to use copyright-protected content for education, research and innovation, without fear of sanction. For example, it would facilitate classroom use and online education, support world-class research, and enable the use of digital tools, such as text and data mining (TDM) for medical and scientific discovery….”
“IFLA has affirmed that comprehensive open access to scholarly literature and research documentation is vital to the understanding of our world and to the identification of solutions to global challenges and particularly the reduction of information inequality. Coalition S which is hosted by the European Science Foundation, has stated that full and immediate Open Access to research results can provide fast answers to protect lives and curb disasters. It is time to make full use of that potential for other global crises that are threatening us. UNESCO is promoting and supporting the online availability of scholarly information to everyone, free of most licensing and copyright barriers—for the benefit of global knowledge flow, innovation and socio-economic development.
Join us for an event with library leaders and learn about how they are managing Open Access efforts in the midst of COVID-19 to move forward research and access to information free of barriers during these times when libraries are deeply impacted by the pandemic. …”
“On behalf of the member institutions of both our associations, we are writing to the publishers and service providers of the publishing industry about the 2021 subscriptions and renewals of electronic resources and databases. We want to make the industry aware that universities, schools, industries, and libraries worldwide are facing significant budget cuts for the next fiscal year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that library subscription is an area that is being looked at for potential savings. To assist libraries and institutions in this possible financial crisis, we request that you support them by reducing prices in 2021. We greatly appreciate such generous gestures already extended by many publishers and vendors, and honestly expect a similar approach from the rest….”
“Increasingly, the governments and private organizations which fund research are mandating that the research outputs they support are made available as open access content. These efforts are impacting both established and growing efforts to share research widely.
This panel discussion will feature four presentations that address how large-scale developments in open access, particularly in regard to those emphasizing the article processing charge (APC) model, are impacting or influencing other programs which enhance access to scholarly content under different models. A Question and Answer session will follow.
The events speakers will discuss the Open Library of Humanities, research database integration of open access content in Iran, an overview of the open access mandates and policies of Latin American countries, and the Research4Life program.”
“Faced with the urgent need to combat the COVID-19 Pandemic and its consequences, it is vital to ensure that intellectual property laws and practices do not become a blockage. IFLA, working with its partners, has led in drafting an open letter to the Director General of WIPO to underline this point and call for action. UPDATE – over 312 organisations and individuals have now signed. …”
“Europe should be a world leader in promoting open science. It should deliver on the promise to make all publicly funded research publications open access by 2020, and use its resources to promote the necessary systemic change to make openness the default for science and innovation, allowing libraries to fulfil their missions….”