European Copyright Directive Lacks Adequate Protection for Libraries

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While spending some quiet time at home one evening, I decided to do a little pleasure reading. My first mistake was opening my briefcase, for "pleasurable" reading rarely, if ever, comes out of it. I paid for my mistake when I read the title of the first document I touched: "Proposal for a European Parliament Directive." I then remembered that I needed to give this baby a third reading in order to summon our profession's objections and concerns. This column is the fruit of my labor.

The European Union's (EU) directive on copyright for digital works is a 67-page document that is replete with history, explanatory notes, and ultimately, the directive itself. In true European form, …