This model fails to incorporate important features of the market for intangibles and the ongoing roles of players in that market who are neither consumers nor merchants. Libraries play publicly and privately supported intermediary roles. A primary goal of many libraries is to provide information to people of all ages and backgrounds, in part to raise the education level of and provide important resources to the broader community. Another important role played by libraries is the preservation of our cultural and historical heritage. Licenses that restrict a library's ability to preserve and provide permanent access to digital information significantly hinder, indeed could make impossible, the ability of current and future generations to build upon prior research and benefit from our Nation's rich cultural heritage.
Libraries also serve a key function in providing access to public domain resources.
Ensuring a rich and robust public domain is a central concern of all libraries. It is not clear how these institutions will be able to support such new measures. Libraries support the full and open exchange of information and have actively promoted intellectual property regimes that encourage the exchange of knowledge. As noted earlier, libraries believe that, in general, copyright law strikes an appropriate balance between the interests of users and owners of information. The uncertainty generated by such protracted litigation would complicate the work of information providers and consumers alike.