The Section 108 Study Group was formed to prepare findings and make recommendations to the Librarian of Congress by mid-2006 for possible alterations to the law that reflect current technologies. This effort will seek to strike the appropriate balance between copyright holders and libraries and archives in a manner that best serves the public interest.
Digital technologies are radically transforming how copyrighted works are created and disseminated, and also how libraries and archives preserve and make those works available. Cultural heritage institutions, in carrying forward their missions, have begun to acquire and incorporate large quantities of "born digital" works (those created in digital form) into their holdings to ensure the continuing availability of those works to future generations.
Yet it has been observed that Section 108 of the Copyright Act - which provides limited exceptions for libraries and archives - does not adequately address many of the issues unique to digital media, either from the perspective of rights owners or libraries and archives.
The Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) is sponsoring the Section 108 Study Group in cooperation with the U.S. Copyright Office. The Library of Congress, with the Copyright Office, is looking forward to obtaining a greater understanding of the issues through the group and to receiving its balanced, solid recommendations for revisions to Section 108.