Digital Rights for Libraries

Unlocking Europe’s Digital Bookshelves: The Fight for Our Right to eRead

/ / Digital Rights for Libraries

Libraries have always been society’s great equalisers—gateways to knowledge, culture, and opportunity, open to everyone. But as the world moves from print to pixels, the fundamental ability of libraries to own and lend books is under threat. This isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a direct challenge to our collective right to access digital materials, the third core principle of the Our Future Memory campaign supported by Internet Archive Europe.

Two recent publications shed crucial light on this struggle, mapping out both the problem and the path forward for memory institutions across Europe.

From Ownership to Expensive, Temporary Access

The core of the problem is a seismic shift in how we access digital content. As a recent COMMUNIA policy paper highlights, publishers are increasingly moving away from selling digital materials and are instead offering restrictive licenses. For libraries, this means they can no longer simply buy a book and own it forever. Instead, they’re trapped in a cycle of temporary, rental-like agreements that give publishers unprecedented control.

The consequences are stark. Libraries face exorbitant prices, “take it or leave it” subscription bundles filled with titles they don’t need, and terms that can forbid preservation, accessibility services, or inter-library loans. In some cases, publishers can even refuse to license essential e-books altogether, effectively creating gaps on our shared digital shelves. This reliance on licensing, a comprehensive study on e-lending in Europe by Knowledge Rights 21 concludes, “undermines the societal role of libraries by limiting their operational capabilities” and compromises fundamental user rights like privacy.

A Path Forward: Secure Digital Lending and the Right to License

So, what’s the solution? The Knowledge Rights 21 study offers a powerful, legally grounded model: (independent) Secure Digital Lending ((i)SDL). 

This model is simple and fair: if a library legally owns a physical copy of a book, it should have the right to digitise it and lend out that single digital copy to one user at a time. This “one copy, one user” system mirrors traditional library lending and provides a vital backstop when publishers refuse to offer fair licensing terms. The study compellingly argues that this model is permissible under existing EU law, offering a clear path for libraries to reclaim their autonomy in the digital age.

The COMMUNIA policy paper builds on this by calling for broader legislative change. It argues that because access is a prerequisite for exercising rights like education and research, users need an enforceable “ancillary access right”. For libraries, this means an obligation on publishers to facilitate access through fair and reasonable licenses. Critically, any licensing terms that prevent a library from fulfilling its public mission—such as by charging unfair prices or restricting lawful uses—should be unenforceable.

Join the Conversation

To dive deeper into these critical issues, join the upcoming COMMUNIA Salon on “The Right to E-Lend.” This online event will be moderated by Peter Routhier from the Internet Archive and will feature experts discussing the challenges and solutions outlined in these essential reports. It’s a perfect opportunity to engage with the community and explore how we can collectively build a better digital future for our libraries.

Stand for Our Future Memory

Both of these reports arrive at the same conclusion: the current system is failing our libraries and, by extension, all of us. Securing the right to access, own, and lend digital materials is not a niche issue: it’s essential for ensuring that knowledge remains a public good, not a private, pay-per-view commodity.

This is precisely what the third right of the Our Future Memory campaign is all about. The ability of our memory institutions to build and preserve digital collections for future generations depends on our ability to act now.

The digital transformation of knowledge will continue regardless of whether memory institutions effectively advocate for their needs.

If your institution believes in a future where digital knowledge is owned, preserved, and accessible to all, it’s not too late to show your support. Join the growing list of signatories and stand with us.

Sign the statement at: www.ourfuturememory.org

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Preserving Digital Sovereignty: Marleen Stikker & Brewster Kahle at the KB in The Hague on 17 September

/ / Digital Rights for Libraries, Events

Exploring the Urgency of Web Archiving in the Netherlands

In an era where websites disappear and change at a rapid pace, safeguarding our digital cultural heritage has never been more urgent. On Wednesday 17 September, the KB – National Library of the Netherlands in The Hague will host a timely event featuring Marleen Stikker, internet pioneer and founder of Waag Futurelab, and Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive and Internet Archive Europe.

This gathering will focus on the need for robust web archiving in the Netherlands. Despite efforts by Dutch institutions like the KB, the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, and the National Archives, legal restrictions severely limit the ability to comprehensively preserve Dutch websites. As a result, vast portions of the Dutch digital memory risk being lost.

A Conversation on Collective Memory and Democratic Infrastructure

The event will spotlight how digital preservation supports historical awareness, collective memory, and a functioning democracy. Marleen Stikker will address why digital sovereignty matters in today’s political and cultural landscape, while Brewster Kahle will showcase the Internet Archive’s efforts to preserve the web globally since 1996—including new ways to explore archived websites and bring collections to life.

Their insights will be particularly valuable for policymakers, cultural heritage professionals, and digital preservation advocates. The discussion will be held in English.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday 17 September 2025
Time: 15:30–17:00, followed by a reception
Location: KB | National Library of the Netherlands, Prins Willem-Alexanderhof 5, 2595 BE The Hague
Language: English
Audience: Heritage sector professionals and advocates, policymakers, and invited guests

👉 Register here to attend the event and more info here.
(Note: Limited capacity; early registration recommended)

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Brewster Kahle at the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen on 4 September

/ / Digital Rights for Libraries, Events

Digital librarian and founder of the Internet Archive, Brewster Kahle, will deliver a public lecture introducing Internet Archive Europe in Copenhagen on Thursday, September 4, 2025, from 13:00 to 14:15 CET. The event will take place at the Royal Danish Library, Karen Blixens Plads 7, Grand Lobby, Copenhagen.

📢 Register here to attend the event.

Brewster Kahle and Universal Access to All Knowledge

Brewster Kahle has dedicated his career to creating a digital library accessible to all, preserving over 145+ petabytes of data—including books, web pages, music, television, and software. The Internet Archive collaborates with 1,200+ library and university partners worldwide to safeguard cultural heritage and enhance public access to knowledge.

Internet Archive Europe, a Dutch foundation established in 2004, expands this mission of Universal Access to All Knowledge through partnerships with European libraries, museums, and archives, working to safeguard digital heritage for the long term. 

Introducing Internet Archive Europe to Denmark

As Internet Archive Europe deepens its collaborations across the continent, this lecture brings its mission into focus for a Danish audience. Brewster will share how collaborations can build a shared infrastructure for digital preservation across borders.

Key discussion topics will include:

  • Building partnerships between Internet Archive Europe and mission-aligned European cultural and research organisations.
  • Exploring how AI can be used to “bring collections to life” for researchers, patrons, and the public.
  • Addressing the unique opportunities and challenges of digital libraries in the European context.
  • Enhancing the accessibility and visibility of cultural heritage collections through collaborative innovation.

A Public Dialogue on the Future of Digital Memory

Co-hosted by DALOSS and Royal Danish Library, this event invites academics, librarians, policymakers, and the public to reflect on the challenges and opportunities facing Europe’s digital future.

📅 Event Details:
 📍 Location: Royal Danish Library, Karen Blixens Plads 7, Grand Lobby, Copenhagen
🕓 Date & Time: Thursday, September 4, 2025 | 13:00 – 14:15 CET
🔗 Register here and check here for more information

 🗣️ Language: English 🇬🇧

This is a unique opportunity to engage in a forward-looking discussion on AI, open access, and cultural heritage with one of the leading voices in the field of digital preservation.

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Strength in Numbers: IFLA Joins Our Future Memory + Future Knowledge Podcast Episode

/ / Digital Rights for Libraries, Press

Building on the momentum of our Our Future Memory campaign, we’re thrilled to share two major developments:

🌍 IFLA Joins the Statement

This week, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) formally endorsed the Four Rights for Memory Institutions statement, further uniting libraries, archives, and museums worldwide behind the call to:

  • Collect digital materials
  • Preserve digital collections
  • Provide controlled digital access
  • Cooperate across institutions

With IFLA’s global reach—representing over 1.5 million library professionals across more than 150 countries—this endorsement underscores the universal urgency of protecting cultural heritage in the digital age.

🎙️ “Future Knowledge” Podcast Episode

To dive deeper into what this global alignment means in practice, Internet Archive has released a special episode of the Future Knowledge podcast featuring voices from across our movement:

Together, they reflect on the rapid growth of our campaign—from its launch in Aruba through widespread European and global sign-ons—and explore concrete next steps for policymakers, memory institutions, and library advocates worldwide.

💬 Voices from the Movement

📚 Libraries in the Digital Age: Keep the Rights, Evolve the Tools

Brewster Kahle issued a powerful reminder that the mission of libraries doesn’t change just because the medium does:

“We should not lose rights that we had in the physical world as we move digital. It should be a better future.”

“What libraries have always done—preserve, lend, interoperate—is now being challenged.”

He emphasized that in the face of licensing restrictions and eroding control, the very identity of libraries is at stake.

🧰 Let Libraries Be Libraries

Lila Bailey recounted the genesis of the four digital rights and how librarians globally came together in a moment of existential reflection:

“Everybody deserves access to high quality information that libraries and other memory institutions have been collecting for generations.”

She reminded listeners why the call to action is urgent:

“Winter is coming…Winter’s kind of here when we’re thinking about access to information.”

🇷🇸 From Belgrade to the World: A Simple Document, a Global Movement

Adam Sofronijević shared the emotional core of the campaign:

“Let this world not be our doom, but our hope. By preserving our rights… we will be able to expand all those beautiful things that digital tools are promising us.”

“When winter comes, the temperature falls down. What we can do is huddle together to give us more warmth.”

His message: the power of unity and simplicity in a world bracing for digital disruption.

🇪🇺 Digital Fairness for Libraries: A European Call to Action

Caroline De Cock called out the quiet crisis in how memory institutions are being hollowed out by licensing regimes:

“We are shifting to a model where [libraries] are basically seeing their collections disappear. Like Snapchat stories.”

At the LIBER Conference, she found a community ready to act:

“Memory institutions are facing a situation that has never been more critical in terms of being able to fulfill their mission in the future.”

And she pointed to Europe’s unique role in protecting digital rights:

“Europe has a tradition of trying to protect the little guy. We are into that—that’s our thing.”

📖 The Global Voice of Libraries

Stephen Wyber spoke to the power of collective voice and institutional alignment in the face of digital challenges and the nearly hundred year of IFLA advocacy on these matters:

“What we’ve really seen is a deregulation by stealth: quietly, little bit by bit, all of the protections, all of the balancing factors that were in place have been undermined.”

“The importance of talking about rights: (…) things that are as important as the preservation of our history, access to information for accountability for reproducibility, when we’re talking about access for research, for education, it’s crazy that we should call these exceptions. These should be the rule!”.

🌴 Preserving a Nation’s Memory—Digitally

Peter Scholing reflected on the foundational partnership that launched the campaign and why small nations play a big role in preserving digital heritage:

“There’s a shared purpose in getting the information you want to share out there, and there’s a lot of barriers to information (…) So it’s just our way of contributing to that conversation and sharing with worlds that we’re about sharing the information.”

Raymond Hernandez added:

“By putting this together in the collection, we can make it possible not only for us Arubians to get this information but also for all our diaspora living around the world. (…) the signing was a kind of expression that it is not only about cultural equity but also about making sure our communities are not left out of the digital future.”

🌍 What’s Next: From Signing to Sustaining a Movement

Closing thoughts from Adam and Caroline made it clear: this isn’t just a petition. It’s a catalyst.

“This campaign is a merger of the best America and Europe can provide to each other.”

– Adam Sofronijević

“This is not just signing a statement. I’m hoping this is kick-starting a movement.”

– Caroline De Cock

📢 Join the Movement

▶️ Listen now on your favorite podcast platform to hear firsthand how these leaders plan to translate collective commitment into legal protections and community action.

Stay tuned for more updates—and if your institution hasn’t signed yet, visit ourfuturememory.org to add your voice.

We’re stronger together, and the future of our shared memory depends on it.

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Protecting the Past to Power the Future: Internet Archive Europe Launches the Our Future Memory Campaign

/ / Digital Rights for Libraries, Events, Press

Today marks a defining moment in the fight for digital rights in cultural heritage. From the shores of Lake Geneva, where minds have long gathered to shape the future of knowledge, Internet Archive Europe proudly announces the launch of Our Future Memory, a global campaign dedicated to safeguarding the digital rights of libraries, archives, and museums worldwide.

The timing could not be more deliberate. As we speak at the LIBER 2025 Annual Conference, surrounded by Europe’s leading library professionals, we are witnessing firsthand the urgency that drives this initiative. The “Four Rights for Libraries” panel session today, moderated by our own Jeff Ubois alongside distinguished speakers Justus Dreyling from COMMUNIA, Caroline De Cock from information labs, and Peter Routhier from Internet Archive, has crystallised what many of us have felt for years: the digital transformation has fundamentally altered the landscape for memory institutions, and not always for the better.

The Challenge We Face

While technology has promised universal access to human knowledge, many libraries today find themselves with fewer practical ways to fulfill their historic mission than they had decades ago. 

The shift from owning physical materials to licensing digital content has created an unprecedented crisis. License agreements routinely prohibit preservation activities that were once standard practice. Materials that exist only in digital formats often remain locked behind commercial platforms that restrict the very institutions meant to preserve them for future generations.

This is not merely a technical problem, it is a fundamental threat to the democratic principle that knowledge should be accessible to all, regardless of economic means or geographic location.

Our Response: Four Essential Rights

The Our Future Memory campaign centers on a simple premise: memory institutions must retain online the same rights and responsibilities they have historically exercised offline. To achieve this, we have articulated four fundamental digital rights:

  1. The Right to Collect materials in digital form, whether through digitisation, open market purchases, or other legal means. This includes content that exists only in streaming formats or behind platform restrictions.
  2. The Right to Preserve digital materials through backup, repair, and reformatting activities essential for long-term access. Without this right, today’s digital culture risks becoming tomorrow’s digital dark age.
  3. The Right to Lend digital content under traditional library conditions, maintaining the balanced approach to access that has served communities for centuries.
  4. The Right to Cooperate through sharing and transferring digital collections among institutions, ensuring that resource constraints do not create information deserts.

Building Momentum

The campaign has already gained remarkable traction. Since its initial signing in Aruba in April 2024, institutions across the globe have endorsed the statement. From the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision to the National Library of Serbia, from cultural organisations in Belgrade to public libraries throughout the Balkans, a diverse coalition is emerging.

This geographic and institutional diversity reflects a crucial truth: the challenges facing memory institutions transcend national boundaries and organisational types. The digitisation of culture affects us all, and our response must be equally comprehensive.

Why This Matters Now

The stakes extend far beyond library operations. Authors, researchers, journalists, and creators of all kinds depend on the sustained availability of cultural materials that only memory institutions preserve without regard to commercial viability. Future historians will judge us by how well we maintained access to the intellectual heritage of our time.

Join the Movement

Whether you lead a major research library or manage a small community archive, whether you work in policy development or daily patron services, your voice matters in this conversation.

We invite you to take action:

  • Sign the Statement: If you represent a memory institution or support organisation, visit ourfuturememory.org to learn about our verification process and add your endorsement.
  • Engage Your Community: Share this message with colleagues, board members, and stakeholders. The more voices we gather, the stronger our collective impact becomes.
  • Connect With Us: Follow our progress and join ongoing conversations about digital rights and cultural preservation.

From Lausanne today, we launch not just a campaign but a commitment to future generations. The memory institutions that have faithfully preserved human knowledge through countless technological transitions will continue to do so in the digital age, but only if we act with purpose and urgency.

Our future memory depends on the choices we make today. Join us in making them count.

Learn more about our work and the Our Future Memory campaign at ourfuturememory.org.

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Internet Archive Europe Joins LIBER 2025 Panel on “Four Rights for Libraries”

/ / Digital Rights for Libraries, Events

📅 Date: Friday, 4 July 2025
🕚 Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Location: Anthropole Building – Room 1031, Lausanne

We are proud to announce that Internet Archive Europe will be participating in this year’s LIBER 2025 Annual Conference as part of a powerful and timely panel titled “Four Rights for Libraries.” Moderated by our very own Jeff Ubois, this session brings together legal and policy experts from across Europe to spotlight how the rights long exercised by libraries are being eroded in the digital realm—and what we can do about it.

📚 Defending Library Rights in a Digital-Only World

The shift from owning physical materials to licensing digital content has created unprecedented challenges for libraries. License agreements often prohibit the preservation of digital works, making access to in-copyright but out-of-commerce materials a legal grey zone, or outright impossible. These barriers threaten not only long-term preservation efforts but also the principles of equitable access to knowledge and culture.

At LIBER 2025, our panel will explore these challenges and outline a proactive framework for securing Four Essential Rights for libraries:

  1. The Right to Collect: Enable libraries to acquire digital materials—regardless of format or delivery mechanism—through legal means, including streaming-only content and open-market purchases.
  2. The Right to Preserve: Guarantee that libraries can preserve, repair, and reformat digital content to ensure long-term access.
  3. The Right to Lend: Uphold libraries’ ability to lend digital content under fair and traditional conditions, such as one-person-at-a-time access.
  4. The Right to Cooperate: Allow for sharing and transferring digital collections among libraries to support underserved communities and global equity in access.

These principles are not merely aspirational. Governments, associations, and institutions are beginning to adopt them. For instance, the Government of Aruba has already endorsed this framework (read more), with similar commitments under consideration across the globe.

🎤 Meet the Panel

This panel brings together some of the most forward-thinking minds working at the intersection of policy, law, and digital access:

🔍 A Look Ahead: Building on LIBER’s Legacy

This session builds on LIBER’s longstanding commitment to digital knowledge access, including its signing of the Hague Declaration on Knowledge Discovery in the Digital Age (read more). By spotlighting current threats and proposing practical solutions, the “Four Rights for Libraries” panel aims to renew and expand that legacy for future generations.

🧭 Why This Matters

As more cultural works are born digital or digitally restricted, libraries must be empowered—not shackled—by the law. This panel offers a vision for a future where libraries can fulfill their essential public mission: preserving knowledge and making it available to all.

We look forward to seeing you in Lausanne. Join us to be part of the movement shaping the digital rights of libraries worldwide.

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