HE Dr. Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage will inaugurate tomorrow, Monday 10 June 2013 in the Hilton Hotel the 1st regional conference of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to be held in Doha on June 10 and 11 for the first time in the Arab region in partnership with the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information (AFLI) and the Library Department at the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. The conference is about the role of the associations and libraries in supporting freedom of information in the light of the intellectual property rights.

Studies made by the Standing Committee on Copyright related to the World Intellectual Property Organization show that libraries' work and documents' role, that differ considerably from one country to another fail to provide the minimum legal right needed by the libraries to perform its functions within the global digital environment. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)sees that the current system along with the exceptions granted and the restrictions imposed on libraries did not fit with the digital era and the fast technological development that we live. Therefore, IFLA works on mobilizing the support through the Standing Committee on Copyright to create a new atmosphere that caters to the needs of the 21st century’s libraries.

The conference will discuss the exceptions, the restrictions granted to the libraries and the role of documents, highlight the divergent views and explain the role of local libraries associations in supporting these exceptions to boost the work of libraries and fully ameliorate their services.

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