STM Releases Document

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

For those of you interested in reading it, the Library Relations Committee
of the STM Group of Publishers has made available a commissioned
discussion document written by John Cox, international publishing
consultant.  The document is entitled "Publisher/Library Relationships in
the Digital Environment."

To locate the document, please visit:  http://www.stm-assoc.org/

Click on "Committees" and look for the "STM Library Relations Committee"

Summary of the Document

STM represents 250 publishing companies and learned societies, and
recognizes that the advent of digital networks affects authors,
publishers, librarians and readers.  Dialogue between publishers and
librarians is essential to creating the sense of partnership and
open-mindedness needed to meet the future needs of scholarship and
research:

� Publishers and librarians have complementary roles and responsibilities,
serving the same needs and facing similar challenges.

� The interests of publishers and librarians need to be re-balanced in
order to seize the benefits of digital information flow.

� Legislation provides a framework of copyright, privacy, competition and
consumer law that protects against misuse while facilitating the flow of
information from author to reader.  If laws need to be amended, such
changes should be made on the basis of the mutual agreement of all members
of the community.

� There is much to be achieved without legislative change.  Neither
publishers nor librarians should shy away from the issues that divide
them, especially the scope of fair use and the exchange of copyright
information between libraries.  A more detailed analysis of the impact of
copyright exemptions is needed.

� The development of a predictable licensing environment and the testing
of new business models requires cooperation between publishers and
librarians, and leads to better mutual understanding.

STM seeks dialogue with libraries and with other members of the research
and scholarly communities in order to meet the challenges, opportunities
and expectations created by the digital environment.

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TM Library Relations Committee
                 
Chairman: Pieter Gispen (Brill Academic Publishers)
                 
Brief: This Committee which grew out of our very active Library Project
Team (an initiative of the relevant STM Committees) intends to improve
relations between STM publishers and STM librarians worldwide, and to
raise the level of mutual understanding. Workshops and seminars have been
held and are being prepared, attendance in one another's meetings is
promoted, and stronger liaison with other STM and Library Committees and
Groups is being both prepared and established. Practical experiences in
the various fields (serials, marketing, copyright...) will be exchanged,
and training and education make up part of the Committee's brief.

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