(12 December 2013) IFLA maintains that legal certainty for text and data mining (TDM) can only be achieved by (statutory) exceptions. As an organization committed to the principle of freedom of access to information, and the belief that information should be utilised without restriction in ways vital to the educational and cultural well-being of communities, IFLA believes TDM to be an essential tool to the advancement of learning, and new forms of creation.
Copyright and database laws can affect the ability of libraries to fulfil their mandates and deliver information services for the benefit of their patrons, and can impede the use of materials by library users in ways that would benefit communities – for scholarship, research, improvements in health and science, creativity and social inclusion.
The IFLA Governing Board approved the statement on 4 December 2013.
Read the entire statement here.
