19 February Webinar: Why Libraries Need Legal Guarantees in the Digital Age
On 19 February 2026, I will be participating in Knowledge Rights 21’s webinar “Enabling Libraries, Guaranteeing Rights: A Legal Checklist for the Digital Age”. The event marks the launch of an important new publication: “Safeguard Access, Empower Europe – An Action Plan to Let Libraries be Libraries.”
I’m glad to be part of this conversation, because the issues at stake go to the very heart of what we are trying to protect through the Our Future Memory campaign: the ability of libraries to preserve, lend, and provide access to knowledge in the digital age — in the public interest.
Libraries at a Turning Point
Libraries have always played a crucial role in safeguarding cultural heritage, enabling access to knowledge, and supporting education, creativity, and research. Today, much of this work happens in digital environments. Yet the legal frameworks governing libraries have not kept pace with this reality.
Too often, libraries are expected to fulfil their public mission online without the legal certainty or rights they have long enjoyed offline. This creates a growing gap between what libraries should be able to do—preserve digital works, lend them, and make them accessible for research and learning—and what the law and market actually allows.
Recognition of the value of libraries is not enough. Libraries need legal guarantees that actively empower their work.
Connecting Law, Access, and Memory
At Internet Archive Europe, we see every day how legal choices shape what is preserved for future generations — and what is lost. This is why the Our Future Memory campaign exists: to highlight what is at stake when access to knowledge, cultural memory, and digital preservation are constrained by outdated or overly restrictive rules.
The campaign asks a simple but urgent question: What kind of memory do we want to leave to the future?
Libraries are central to the answer. But without clear legal frameworks that support digital preservation, lending, and access, our collective memory risks becoming fragmented, inaccessible, or dependent on purely commercial terms.
The 9-Point Action Plan
The webinar on 19 February will present Knowledge Rights 21’s 9-Point Action Plan, which offers a practical roadmap for lawmakers, advocates, and library professionals. It sets out the essential legal conditions that libraries need to operate effectively in the 21st century—online and offline.
During the session, we will explore:
- The nine legal guarantees libraries need today
- Evidence from independent research and European library experiences
- A practical toolkit to help librarians assess their national legal framework and identify gaps
What I value most about this work is its focus on implementation: moving from abstract principles to concrete legal solutions that actually enable libraries to do their job.
Why This Conversation Matters Now
As libraries increasingly operate in digital spaces, there is a real risk that their role will be shaped more by market rules than by the public interest. When that happens, access to knowledge becomes conditional, preservation becomes uncertain, and long-term cultural memory is put at risk.
Ensuring that libraries have the same possibilities online as offline is not a niche legal issue. It is fundamental to education, research, creativity, and democratic access to knowledge across Europe.
I look forward to discussing these issues during the Knowledge Rights 21 webinar and connecting this work to the broader goals of the Our Future Memory campaign.
Join the Conversation
Webinar: Enabling Libraries, Guaranteeing Rights: A Legal Checklist for the Digital Age
Date: 19 February 2026
Time: 11:00 CET
👉 Register now to secure your spot
If we care about the future of shared knowledge, we must ensure that libraries are legally empowered to preserve it. I hope you’ll join us.
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