Library Code of Best Practices for Crown Copyright

The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) and the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) recently published a document entitled Navigating Copyright for Crown-Published Works: A Code of Best Practices for Libraries.

"Libraries have assumed responsibility for the stewardship of this critical part of Canada’s culture and knowledge, which includes preserving and maintaining public access to this information. However, to do this work, libraries must first navigate Crown copyright protections that can, and often do, hamper these efforts."

"This document is intended to support libraries engaged in navigating copyright issues related to reproducing and sharing Canadian government publications for stewardship purposes. Specifically, this document provides guidance to libraries for digitizing and making available legacy print government publications, as well as collecting, preserving, and providing ongoing access to born-digital content from government websites."

"This code of best practices provides background information alongside a legal framework for these activities. It also shares some illustrative examples that document current practices in use within the library community and the current consensus around related best practices. While this document has undergone a legal and peer review process, it is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice."