FESABID Roundtable on Libraries & eBooks
Spanish version here | Blog post by FESABID
On 2 October 2024, FESABID organised the roundtable “Libraries and eBooks: An Unfinished Business?” as part of the Liber 2024 conference discussing the future of access to digital content in Spanish libraries.
Alicia Sellés, author of the report “Libraries and eBooks: Promoting Rights of Access to Information, Culture, and Knowledge“, FESABID published in September 2024 in the context of the KR21 programme, moderated the roundtable.
Embracing a digital future
Laura Guindal, Deputy Director General of Library Coordination at the Ministry of Culture, highlighted that:
- there is a need to update indicators to measure the impact of eBooks in libraries effectively; and,
- usability and interoperability of platforms are essential.
Patricia Sanpera, Director of the Library of the Barcelona Bar Association, spoke about the different types of eBooks in libraries:
- Books acquired from publishers, managed through usage licenses;
- Content created by the institution itself, typically within the framework of open access; and,
- Controlled digital lending, where out-of-print works are digitised while respecting legal limits.
Alicia Pastrana, Head of Digital Collections at the National Library of Spain (BNE), addressed BNE’s role in the digital environment:
- In addition to eBooks, she mentioned the need to consider other digital formats, such as HTML and audio;
- She highlighted the BNE’s role as a content creator, digitising public domain works; and,
- She emphasised that libraries should not only digitise content but also create accessible formats, such as EPUB.
Pastrana further stressed the importance of expanding horizons to include born-digital content: “The content we generate in libraries is as important as the collection itself.”
Building a new framework for digital access
Alicia Sellés, roundtable moderator and author of the FESABID report, proposed establishing a multi-stakeholder forum including representatives from the entire book ecosystem to address current needs and challenges.
Guindal pointed out that the solution involves creating a strong institutional framework. “Ensuring that the need reaches the representatives” is key to establishing this forum.
Sellés further proposed creating a White Paper to structure and define policies on access to eBooks in libraries.
Other key topics discussed
The animated exchanges covered many other topics, including:
- The importance of Legal Deposit, with the new 2023 law allowing publishers to deliver works in digital format, offering enormous potential for cooperation between libraries.
- Ongoing work to sign agreements with the Autonomous Communities within a closed network, ensuring secure access while respecting intellectual property rights.
- The need to amend the Book Law, which currently does not adequately cover eBooks.
- The potential of eBooks for data mining and the use of metadata with artificial intelligence to generate new content.
- The need for specialised training for library staff to improve the management and use of these resources. FESABID is preparing a training plan for this.
For more information, you can read the exchange FESABID’s Intellectual Property Working Group had with Alicia Sellés: “Access to digital content in Spanish libraries is limited“.
11 December 2024
