Written question asked by Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 2 June 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 June 2025 (named day). It was answered by Feryal Clark (Labour) on Thursday, 12 June 2025 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Public Libraries: Electronic Publishing
- Question
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To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will (a) grant libraries the right to archive eBooks and (b) ensure perpetual access to licensed works.
- Answer
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The Government has no plans to alter the copyright framework in relation to archiving at the present time. However, the Government keeps the UK copyright framework under constant review. This includes the archiving and preservation exception to copyright outlined in section 42 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The Government welcomes continued developments from the public library sector on e-licensing and e-book lending. Arts Council England funded Libraries Connected to deliver a pilot project to explore mutual benefits of increasing the affordability and availability of eBooks in public libraries. A project summary report was published in February 2025.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 56550
- Session
- 2024-26
- Registered interest declared
- Yes
- Subjects
- Archives Electronic publishing Public libraries
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2025-09-05 23:09:13 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-25/56550
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-25/56550
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-25/56550