Protect the Rights of Memory Institutions

Do we really live in an information age? It might be easy to answer “of course,” but let’s think about it for a minute. Is it an information age or, increasingly, a misinformation age or even a disinformation age? With quality information often increasingly locked behind paywalls, as Sarah Lamdan has memorably documented in Data Cartels, can we reliably say that resources, especially if they are older but still important, will be available to all, regardless of ability to pay? How are the “memory institutions”—libraries, archives, and museums—supposed to perform their vital roles of collecting, preserving, and sharing information when the rights they have with physical materials are often challenged with digital information?

This last question is daunting. Ensuring the continuation of this mission may well require changes to law and copyright. But one good way to start is by joining the Our Future Memory coalition and signing onto their "Statement on Digital Rights for Protecting Memory Institutions Online."  You would be joining a community dedicated to ensuring access “to the cultural, artistic, and scientific knowledge that make up our collective intellectual heritage,” keeping “resources available without regard to commercial viability.”

 This community works to protect 4 Rights:  

1. COLLECT MATERIALS IN DIGITAL FORM, whether through digitization of physical collections, purchase on the open market, or other legal means.

2. PRESERVE DIGITAL MATERIALS, and where necessary repair, back up, or reformat them, to ensure their long-term existence and availability.

3. PROVIDE CONTROLLED ACCESS TO DIGITAL MATERIALS  to enable advanced research techniques and to meet patrons where they are—online.

4. COOPERATE WITH OTHER MEMORY INSTITUTIONS by sharing or transferring digital collections, so as to aid preservation and access.

 Visit here to sign a statement in support of these fundamental rights. Your organization might be a government, library, archive, museum, or simply a concerned entity. If you are concerned about the preservation of and access to our past and present, your support is important.