EBLIDA/ECUP/STM JOINT STATEMENT
ON THE DIGITIZATION OF PRINTED STM
MATERIALS FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES
Some members of the International Association of Scientific Technical and Medical Publishers (STM), the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA) and the European Copyright Users Platform (ECUP), have held a series of meetings beginning in December 1997, aimed at discussing possible areas of consensus with respect to electronic usage by libraries of scientific publishers' print publications. This joint statement, on the question of library digitization for archival purposes of scientific print material, results from those discussions. The principles set out below are not intended to replace specifically-negotiated licenses between publishers and libraries and other organizations, which are likely to be broader and to deal with materials and permitted uses other than those described herein. However, the parties involved in the discussions hope that these principles on digital archives will be accepted as being useful, by as many organizations and interested parties as possible.
The Statement is as follows:
1. Some published scientific material ceases, after its initial publication and distribution, to be generally available on a commercial basis from the original publisher (or its agents or licensees). This lack of availability, however, does not negate the underlying rights of the publisher or author in such material.
2. For purposes of this statement, the following definitions will be used as to what constitutes "not generally available through commercial means": (a) with respect to scientific journals, seven years after the publication of each relevant issue (assuming no electronic versions are then available); and (b) with respect to scientific books, works in series, monographs and the like, after the publisher has elected not to supply such works for sale or deemed such works to be "out of print", as evidenced in its catalog (or as confirmed by it in writing).
3. Notwithstanding its unavailability over time, scientific information continues to have reference value, and the preservation of such information serves important societal, cultural, scientific and technological development goals. Preservation also involves the maintenance of the integrity of the original work.
4. The use of digitization procedures (scanning and storing) by libraries is a particularly effective means of preserving print scientific information.
5. For the purposes and with the limitations identified herein, scientific publishers may be willing to forego possible financial compensation with respect to authorizing or approving digitization projects in recognition in part of the economic investment required by libraries undertaking such projects.
6. Such authorization or approval would be for the digitization of print scientific works previously subscribed to or purchased by each particular library (not for further re-sale or transfer). The digital archive created by each such library using digitization procedures (with appropriate authorization) could be made available on-site to the normal users or patrons of the particular library involved in such a project for their personal or research use (one simultaneous user at a time), and such researchers should be able to print out isolated and limited results from a search of the archive for such purposes.
7. STM Publishers accepting or agreeing to this Statement may nonetheless in the future cease participating in or permitting digitization of this material (or may "opt-out" with respect to an individual work) and thus libraries interested in initiating such projects should contact the relevant publishers prior to digitizing the publishers' material to ensure there are no objections. Acceptance or agreement by an STM publisher of this Statement may be viewed by libraries as a presumption of publisher approval, but such approval should be confirmed.
8. The rights of authors or other rights-holders might also need to be considered, and scientific publishers should be prepared to indicate upon the request of libraries involved in such projects whether there are any residual or reversionary rights held by any party other than the publisher with respect to particular works or journals. This information will enable the libraries to obtain any permissions necessary from these other rights-holders.
9. Some scientific publishers may furthermore be willing to permit or authorize usage of the digitized material beyond the scope identified above. As examples, some publishers might be prepared to authorize or license electronic reproduction by researchers, article delivery, remote access, or enterprise-wide corporate use of such material, presumably on commercial terms set by each such publisher.
10. Some scientific publishers may furthermore be willing to permit or authorize the digitization of material or information already in digital format (for example to ensure an archival record is kept even in the face of technological change).
ECUP, 7 November 1998