Copyright owners will require assurances that users will not be allowed to create derivative works without permission or to disseminate the information beyond the bounds of the authorization. And owners and users will need evidence that the information sought, and subsequently provided, has not been accidentally or maliciously altered. No comprehensive digital library can succeed without these conditions being satisfied. A number of prototype systems for managing copyright in digital libraries have been proposed. CNRI, for example, is implementing several test bed projects and working with the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress to build a system for electronic registration and deposit of digital works.
Much more research is needed on each of the following topics.
We don't even know how to ask the right questions yet. It's impossible now to calculate the cost of the new computer hardware and software needed to take advantage of the new capabilities because much of it doesn't exist yet. No one has yet effectively estimated what all the information stored in a comprehensive digital library system would be worth. There are a number of proposals detailing who should pay for digital library development. These include everything, from providing regulatory incentives for the regional telephone operating companies and cable operators to accelerate their investment in the infrastructure, to federal support, to encouraging investment by local gas and electric utilities.