Libraries are places where the public and the proprietary meet. The multiple roles of libraries as social organizations address the balance in the law, and are shaped by it. Because of their institutional roles, librarians and their associations pay close attention to that balance and to the need to promote users' rights as well as creators' rights. Librarians recognize that most users of copyrighted material are not aware of their dependence on balanced law and policy for access to information and for gaining knowledge. Members of the public take their rights for granted and generally exercise common-sense, but do not usually get involved in policy deliberations.
Librarians take seriously their role as advocates for individual users of copyrighted materials.
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.