2021 has finally arrived, and as always, the new year brings another celebration: Public Domain Day. This is a big deal. Why? Because the public domain means that works can be used and modified by anyone without authorisation. As such, this enriches the range of books, articles, art and beyond that brings us pleasure, inspiration […]
Read moreOn the 15th of December 2020, the European Commission launched its long-awaited reform on the regulation of major online platforms, the Digital Services Act (DSA). This comes alongside a proposal named the Digital Markets Act (DMA) which aims to address concerns about competition (or a lack thereof) in the technology sector and its impacts. At […]
Read moreLibraries have a strong history of cooperation and partnerships. With no single institution able to acquire and preserve everything, we have worked together for centuries to preserve and share materials, for the benefit of users. Long before the internet, libraries were enabling information to flow around the world in support of education, research and access […]
Read moreAfter months where the need for immediate action to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic had been dominating news schedules, the ongoing events in the United States have sharply refocussed attention onto other, more long-term challenges societies face. For many, especially those in groups subject to marginalisation or discrimination, the death of George Floyd is just the […]
Read moreEurope Day marks the anniversary of the 1950 speech by Robert Schuman, then Foreign Minister of France, proposing closer cooperation between the countries of Europe in the management of their coal and steel markets. This is often seen as a key starting point in the process of European integration, which has led to the 27-member […]
Read moreIn the last two library stats of the week, we have looked at the relationship between digital and physical loans from public and academic libraries. Based on countries for which data is available, it is clear that there is a big difference in use of eBooks and other electronic formats. In public libraries, loans of […]
Read moreWith libraries around their world forced to close their doors to the public, there have been major spikes in demand for digital content, and in particular eBooks. Of course, libraries globally have been doing what they can to develop their digital offer for users. Digital tools and materials offer a great possibility not only to […]
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