The privacy and confidentiality of users and the information they access on the NII must be ensured. The intellectual property system must ensure a fair and equitable balance between the rights of creators and other copyright owners and the needs of users. Health sciences libraries must be included in the NII to secure basic information access for all health care professionals and consumers. Timely access to current biomedical information is essential for health care practitioners, educators, researchers, and consumers. Health sciences libraries create and provide access to electronic resources.
Equitable access requires universal service.
A society that is committed to ensuring a basic level of health care for all citizens cannot allow any group to be deprived of vital information. Access must be available to all providers of health care, as well as to patients, since having informed health care consumers leads to better disease prevention and informed decision-making by patients. Access to health care information through the NII must be available to public and school libraries and other community locations because they may be the primary source of consumer health information, particularly in remote and underserved areas. Equitable access also requires affordability. While the NII will rely on commercial entities for its infrastructure, a basic level of service must be provided to institutions and citizens at minimal or no cost.