This has the effect of moving information from a realm where ideas are allowed to flow in the public domain, to one where this flow is controlled by the provider. There is an increasing unease among members of the library community that copyright changes will adversely affect the ability of libraries to provide digital collections and services. The discomfort librarians feel is justified. Such a concept will destroy not only the incentive to create new copyrighted works, but the revenue from existing works that provides the investment in new works by authors and publishers. 8 Information providers such as publishers increasingly see libraries and themselves as sharing the same customer base.
Publishers view libraries as threats to their market.
No longer will libraries be the only means of obtaining archival information. In some areas, libraries will be able to fulfill their function by merely pointing to other electronic repositories and in others they will seek out more active roles. Herein lies a fundamental difference between libraries and commercial information providers. Libraries will be required to provide reasonable assurances to content providers that the terms of their licenses can be maintained, and that distribution of copyrighted materials are restricted to particular users or locations. It is even likely that users will have to visit the physical building of the library since the digital collections may only be available on particular workstations or require special equipment to access the materials.