We also appreciate the special attention given to public establishments such as libraries and archives and other teaching, educational or cultural establishments which serve the public interest. However, further improvements are urgently needed to enable everybody, irrespective of financial or other constraints, to fully participate in and benefit from the new information society services by using the services offered by libraries and other related public institutions.
Directive sets out a list of permitted exceptions, which is exhaustive.
Member States will not be allowed to provide for any exceptions other than those enumerated. This means that not only exceptions for the digital environment will be very restrictive to take account of new technologies and to further EU harmonisation but also that existing national exceptions of the analogue environment will be reduced to the listed few. The EU Directive which is also aiming at implementing the WIPO Copyright Treaty must not be more restrictive than international treaties if no barriers are to be created to the Internal Market. Although the potential offering of a work on a publicly accessible site would require the authorisation of the rightholder, the actual calling up of an image for viewing by the library user is an act of temporary reproduction and thus subject to the exception given in Article 5.1. It is of crucial importance regarding access to information to state explicitly that visitors of a library can view, read or listen to electronic materials on the premises of a library without having to ask for rightholders' permission or having to pay any extra charges.