It is important, therefore, that there should not be any undue restrictions on lending imposed either by legislation, or contractually by copyright holders. Legislation should prevent the setting of terms by suppliers of published electronic resources which aim to restrict reasonable lending of such resources by librarians. Preservation and conservation Collecting and archiving print-based material for our national research and cultural heritage has always been an important part of the role of the librarian and archivist. The library and information profession also has the responsibility to preserve information in comparable electronic formats. Full use of technology to assist in this role is essential.
Librarians are concerned to maintain the long term integrity of the contents of published media.
This is difficult if electronic publications are not safely archived and protected from external interference and alteration. There is also the need to be able to use this material in-house, in the same way as its printed equivalent, when it is not commercially available. Legislation should also provide for the legal deposit of certain electronic media. We believe that the full use of the new technologies and advanced telecommunications will not be fully realised until adequate protection and effective networks of remuneration for use are built in to national and international intellectual property legislations. However, there is concern by the user community that too much control could impede access to works which are out of copyright or which have been deliberately put into the public domain by rights holders wishing to waive copyright.