Significant resources in Uzbekistan are being invested in improving library services that includes the construction of a new National Library with modern reader facilities, a national programme for digitization of library resources, and an information and library law (2011) that sets out the duties and activities of Uzbek libraries in the digital age.

However legal and knowledge barriers stand in the way of developing an effective information society because the Law on Copyright and Related Rights (2006), that deals mainly with analogue materials, is out of step with the digital environment, and with the activities mandated in the 2011 library law. There is a lack of learning resources in local languages and no effective programmes on library copyright, licensing or building relations with rightsholders.

The results of an EIFL-IP supported project led by Tashkent University of Information Technologies (TUIT) with Tashkent Institute of Arts and Culture, the National Library of Uzbekistan, Fundamental Library of the Academy of Science, and the State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Republic of Uzbekistan aimed to address these barriers by developing new materials, raising awareness of digital copyright issues among librarians and engaging with policy-makers to update the copyright law.

The project results are described in a case study and illustrated in a project poster, one of eight EIFL-IP funded projects in 2013 for advocacy campaigns in support of copyright law reform in Africa, Asia, and Europe.