35
34
other institutions are among the sites of “cultural memory“ that
are particularly worthy of support, such as the German National
Library, the state libraries and important archives and collections,
and give those institutions a preferential status. Another approach
may be to diferentiate much more clearly than before between pur-
poses of use. Use for the purpose of research must be treated diferently
from use for entertainment purposes.
Unlimited access free of charge for everyone will not be possible with
regard to protected material without putting at risk the supply of
precisely those cultural and academic productions that are afected.
At the same time, the majority of rights holders will support projects
that focus on creating a national, European and ultimately world-
wide “digital cultural memory”.
DR. MARTIN SCHAEFER ist Vorsitzender des Musikbeirats der
Deutschen Nationalbibliothek, Mitglied des Vorstandes der ALAI
Deutschland und Mitglied im Fachausschuss für Urheberrecht der
GRUR. Er gehört auch der Copyright Society of the USA an.
// is
chair of the Advisory Committee for the German Music Archive of the German National
Library, a member of the board of ALAI Deutschland and a member of the special
committee on copyright of the GRUR. He also belongs to the Copyright Society of
the USA.
SHOULD ACCESS TO
DIGITAL INFORMATION
BE FREE?
Will digital media really replace printed forms entirely? And will the grow-
ing digital availability of information and content change the role of li-
braries and publishing houses – or do they simply have to adapt what they
offer and the way they work?
Answers by
DR. SVEN FUND
Access to information is essential to libraries and publishers.
This is true for printed material as well as electronic jour-
nals, books, and databases. Moreover, interests of librarians
and publishers evidently coincide in most aspects except
one. Librarians make their living by ofering as much content
as possible to their patrons in the best structure they can
imagine, and institutions like the German National Library
have contributed greatly to improve the organization of cat-
alogue as well as content data, fulflling not only its constitu-
tional role, but also its societal obligation.
Publishers, in contrast, seem to make their living by grant-
ing access to content in their programs and publication lists,
when purchased by individuals, research institutions or – in
most cases – libraries. The seemingly paradoxical situation of
limiting access to grant access after a fnancial transaction has
been addressed by diferent publishers in various ways. This
paradox has increased in the digital age.
Although some, particularly large international publishing con-
glomerates, have opted for “big deals” in digital times, small
mom and pop publishers could not do so because of their
programs’ sheer lack in size as well as of their conviction that
customers ought to be able to choose. However, it was libraries
that supported this model because they liked the idea of mak-
ing large amounts of content available at low transaction cost;
maximizing optimization of catalogue data and content deliv-
ery. The approach is legitimate in its own way; however, there
seems to be a middle way, particularly in digital times.
For theorists of the digital age, this era of the information
industry is synonymous with access. Today’s users only accept
information that is instantaneously available, ideally at no or
very low cost. Undoubtedly, this attitude afects not only the
daily information but also the work of millions of profession-
als around the globe, with open access being the most perva-
sive model catering to it. Many argue that when the producer
pays for access, the reader is ultimately in the driver’s seat, con-
suming the world’s knowledge and information for free. But is
he really? I disagree. There is good reason to trust the business
common sense that there is no free lunch and that inequality
in access to information cannot be eliminated by changing the
business model. To gain access to information, one frst needs
interest followed by fnancial resources, and fnally tools for ob-
taining what you want. Open access changes the relationship
between the research community, publishers, and libraries, but
it does not address the issue of resources. In the past, those
who consumed voluminous information needed deep pockets,
as great libraries at major universities around the world demon-
strate. In a future based on open access, those who publish
g