“The programme Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21) is focused on bringing about changes in legislation and practice across Europe that will strengthen the right of all to knowledge. It is built on a conviction that knowledge is essential for education, innovation and cultural participation, and that everyone should have the possibility – in particular through libraries, archives and digitally – to access and use it….
“In their daily work, libraries face several legal issues relevant to copyright law, especially in the digital environment. Lending a publication, making a digital copy of it, or simply listing related material online are just a few examples of day-to-day activities that imply to consider, on the one hand, the rights of copyright holders and, on the other hand, the rights to access and use such works by the public.
The digital aspects of lending, eBooks, also present an interesting dilemma not only when it comes to copyright issues, but where the agency of libraries is concerned. As eBooks are not sold but licensed, publishers not libraries choose what titles can be acquired, how long they can form part of the collection and the terms under which they can be lent out to students and researchers. These issues as well as high prices, bundling of titles and the requirement to buy the same title repeatedly, all challenge the notion of what it means to be a library.
This workshop, designed jointly by the reCreating Europe and Knowledge Rights 21 projects, is designed to share findings and observations on the topic of copyright and eBooks. The first part of the workshop, led by the researchers of Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa, Italy), partner of the EU funded project reCreating Europe, aims to briefly illustrate the copyright framework that is relevant to libraries and users, with a specific focus on EU and national copyright rules concerning public lending and the preservation of cultural heritage, and prepare the audience for the second part of the workshop. The second part of the workshop will be lead by Knowledge Rights 21 and will focus on the issues that face educational libraries regarding eBooks, and what can be done about it….”
“SPARC Europe has been selected to deliver the first project sponsored under the Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21) programme. KR21 seeks to strengthen access to knowledge in particular through libraries and archives. It is focused on bringing about changes in legislation and practice across Europe that will strengthen rights to knowledge.
This is aligned to the SPARC Europe strategy and speaks to four of our strategic goals:
Strengthen Open Access, Open Scholarship / Open Science and Open Education policy in Europe and align where possible;
Advocate for open in research and education;
Strive to enable more equity in Open so that all those who wish to publish and share research and education resources openly are better enabled to do so; and
Promote diversity in publishing Open research and education.
SPARC Europe will lead research to develop a stronger understanding of rights retention and open licensing policies in Europe, with an ambition to reform the way institutions and authors manage their publishing rights to enable Open Access and access to knowledge for all. A key goal is to simplify the rights retention procedures, encourage the adoption of open licences, and better empower authors so that they and their fellow researchers, teachers and students can further benefit from the research they share. …”
“Last week, Knowledge Rights 21 released a strong call to action to ensure that libraries can continue serving their centuries old role in society of providing access to knowledge to the public. Knowledge Rights 21 is an Arcadia funded project advocating for copyright and open access reform across Europe.
In their Position Statement on eBooks and eLending, Knowledge Rights 21 explains that government action is urgently needed because the market for eBooks now operates outside of the current copyright law that permits libraries to acquire, lend and preserve physical books. Monopolistic behavior by commercial publishers including refusals to sell, embargoes, high prices, and restrictive licensing terms have frustrated libraries’ ability to undertake collection development, hurting those who rely on libraries for education, research, and cultural participation….”
We are looking for someone who can provide support, guidance, and energy for a network of national coordinators covering 20+ countries in Europe, working to deliver on the goals of the Knowledge Rights 21 Programme.
In more detail, we are looking for a candidate who can:
Develop a strategy for mobilising a network of national coordinators in order to maximise their impact, including identifying training needs and take part in the selection of the national coordinators;
Support national coordinators in planning and delivering on their advocacy and network mobilisation activities;
Support national coordinators in responding to substantive questions about copyright and gathering data, either directly or through seeking answers elsewhere;
Support national coordinators in working with other Programme outputs (notably research reports and beyond);
Support Programme Secretariat in the evaluation and implementation of national grants and other national activities;
Support Programme Secretariat in other activities related with the Programme.
In turn, the National Coordinators, who will be supported by the successful candidate, are responsible for developing the networks, contacts and understanding necessary to catalyse change. They act either as part of another organisation or as freelancers, and cover one or several countries, depending on their expertise and availability.
The successful candidate/organisation will work closely with the Programme Secretariat, and in liaison with the Programme’s Policy Committee.
National Coordinators – What Are We Looking For?
National Coordinators will make a vital contribution to the Programme’s success at the national and regional level, developing the networks, contacts and understanding necessary to catalyse change. They will be based in their home countries and act either as part of another organisation or as freelancers, and cover one or several countries, depending on their expertise and availability. They are expected to:
Represent the Programme on a national and regional level;
Establish relationships with key stakeholders inside and outside of the library field on the national and regional level, thus creating national networks and participating in the creation of regional and European networks;
Support and cooperate with the programme in the implementation of KR21 work packages on the national and regional level, in particular around advocacy;
Proactively identify and seize opportunities for national engagement and achievement of the Programme’s goals, while also responding to the needs of wider partners in the programme;
Supporting the Programme Secretariat in other issues related with KR21 implementation;
Conducting other Programme-related tasks as regards country/countries under his/her scope of work, including aiding in gathering or sourcing information to support research.
The successful candidate/organisation will work closely with the Programme Secretariat and in liaison with the Policy Committee.
Required Competences/Experience
Successful freelancers or organisations are expected to be self-starters with a flexible approach, able to manage the workload efficiently, offering:
Knowledge of copyright law and copyright policy issues in relation to the needs of libraries, research, education and culture, or familiarity with legal issues affecting the digital environment plus demonstrable ability to quickly get up to speed on any new topics;
Strong networking and interpersonal skills and ability to establish efficient and sustainable national/regional networks of individuals and institutions working in the fields covered by the Programme;
Good communication skills in English both in writing and public speaking, including ability to clearly explain complex topics in simple terms to different audiences;
Ability to identify and take advantage of opportunities to engage in policy processes;
Ability to think strategically about relationships and areas of work within national/regional context, helping to inform the overall direction of the Programme;
Clear and timely communication, both internally with others working on the Programme, and externally with relevant stakeholders;
Ability to manage a varied workload, crossing a number of sub-themes;
Competence using standard office software suites and website content management systems.
“Last week, Knowledge Rights 21 released a strong call to action to ensure that libraries can continue serving their centuries old role in society of providing access to knowledge to the public. Knowledge Rights 21 is an Arcadia funded project advocating for copyright and open access reform across Europe.
In their Position Statement on eBooks and eLending, Knowledge Rights 21 explains that government action is urgently needed because the market for eBooks now operates outside of the current copyright law that permits libraries to acquire, lend and preserve physical books. Monopolistic behavior by commercial publishers including refusals to sell, embargoes, high prices, and restrictive licensing terms have frustrated libraries’ ability to undertake collection development, hurting those who rely on libraries for education, research, and cultural participation….”
“eBooks are undermining the centuries-old function of libraries to acquire, lend and undertake collection development. If libraries are not free to select and maintain their own collections, this ultimately undermines not only research, health care and scientific progress, but it diminishes the lives of the millions of Europeans who are reliant on public libraries for access to education and cultural participation.
In the past few years, the issue of unsustainably high prices of eBooks has hit the headlines, but the issues go far deeper than this. As publishers have moved away from selling physical works outright to offering licences for access, exceptions and limitations in copyright law risk being overridden by licence terms.
Libraries have as a result lost their right to buy books, maintain their collections, and even undertake basic library functions such preservation and lending books between libraries. Issues such as publishers refusing to offer licenses, unsustainable prices many times higher than the that for the equivalent paper book or CD, titles not available digitally, and even loss of collection items purchased are not uncommon. …
Crucially, this is not a question that can be left to the market alone. European governments and the European Union need to recognise as a matter of public policy that libraries have no choice but to provide access to books for their users in order to fulfil their mandates.
In concrete terms, national governments need to review existing library laws, and the European Union should update the Rental and Lending Directive in line with Vereniging Openbare Bibliotheken v Stichting Leenrecht.
In this way, it is possible to reverse the trend of licensed-based eBooks undermining citizens’ and researchers’ access to information, and to reaffirm the status quo that has served libraries and users so well. We look forward to working with you all to ensure that libraries can once again continue to function and serve the public as they have done for millenia….”