UK Copyright Literacy Review

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to survey the levels of copyright literacy amongst UK librarians and information professionals in all sectors including the cultural heritage sector (e.g. museums, galleries and archives). The UK survey was part of a wider international copyright literacy project which originated in the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science [Todorova et al, 2014]. The reason for carrying out the research was to highlight any gaps in knowledge and training requirements in the relevant UK sectors as well as gather data to compare with copyright literacy levels in other countries that were participating in the survey. It is believed that this is the biggest survey of its kind to have been carried out in the UK. The researchers hoped that the survey would support a better understanding of copyright as part of the wider development of digital literacies within UK libraries and cultural institutions. There was a significant reform of the copyright regime in the UK during 2014 which was intended to provide educational and cultural institutions with greater freedoms. Therefore consideration of copyright in the context of information and digital literacy was of particular interest because the impact of the changes to the law on information professionals was not yet understood. Knowledge of copyright exceptions related to libraries and education, could also potentially empower librarians and their users to better exploit copyright protected materials. The study also sought to consider how the impact of copyright support and literacy programmes within institutions could be measured, particularly in light of the need to take full advantage of the new legal landscape