In June 2013, member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) adopted the 'Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled'.

Libraries are key to the success of the treaty for two main reasons. Throughout the world, libraries have a long history serving people with print disabilities, and only blind people’s organizations, libraries and other so-called 'authorized entities' can send accessible format copies to other countries.

As the treaty provides countries with important policy options, librarians need to be involved in the development of implementing national legislation to ensure the maximum possible benefit, and to meet the objective of the treaty - to end the book famine for print disabled people.

What will the webinar cover?

The webinar has two aspects. Firstly, it will provide a step-by-step guide to the key Marrakesh Treaty issues for libraries. Secondly, using the experience of presenting to an international group of policy-makers at a WIPO Regional Workshop, it provides an opportunity for a wider discussion on framing library issues for policy-makers at international and national levels. What do libraries bring to the debate? Who are the other players?

Participants are encouraged to ask questions, share experiences and provide their tips for success.

The guest speaker is Ms Sania Battalova, Vice-President of the Kyrgyz Libraries Information Consortium, EIFL’s partner in Kyrgyzstan. Sania recently spoke at a WIPO Regional Workshop on the Beijing and Marrakesh Treaties on the role of authorized entities in the Treaty. The webinar will be introduced by Teresa Hackett, EIFL Copyright and Libraries Programme Manager.

Recommended reading: The Role of Authorized Entities, WIPO Regional Workshop on the Beijing and Marrakesh Treaties, May 28 to May 29, 2015 (Tbilisi, Georgia) and The Marrakesh Treaty: an EIFL Guide for Libraries

Registration information

Date: Thursday, 9 July 2015

Time: 9am UTC (10am Dublin / 11am Rome / 3pm Bishkek). Check the time in your country by going here and comparing UTC or Ireland, Italy or Kyrgyzstan  to your time with your city/country time. The session will last for one hour, including time for questions.

Who may participate

The session is open to librarians in EIFL-partner countries only.

How to register

Please email teresa.hackett [at] eifl.net with the following details:

Your name:

Your job title:

Your institution:

Your country:

Is your institution a member of an EIFL partner consortium?

How the webinar works

We will use Instant Presenter to connect. All you need is a computer with a browser and internet access. To check that your browser will successfully access the session, please go to instantpresenter.