Libraries are a small but significant market for published works. The vast majority of copyrighted works in library collections were purchased or were acquired through license agreements. Often libraries pay more for copyrighted works than would an individual. This is especially true of subscriptions to periodicals, to ongoing reference works, and to electronic information. These higher rates are presumably to account for multiple uses in libraries.
Libraries often aggregate their purchases or licenses to enhance their buying power.
In the electronic environment, this may mean that a consortium of libraries negotiates on behalf of all its members, or a state library agency may negotiate agreements on behalf of all the public libraries in a state. What librarians seek in any copyright law revision or rulemakings What librarians seek as copyright law and related rules are being reshaped for the digital age is to maintain for users, and for libraries and educational institutions acting on their behalf, their rights to at least the same extent as they have enjoyed them in the analog environment. Should any new rights be granted to copyright proprietors in copyright law revision, they should be circumscribed in analogous and appropriate ways on behalf of users. This becomes even more important as licensing replaces purchasing. Libraries play this archival role because history has shown that it is not economically viable for profit-based businesses to do so.