Mr. President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi

As you would certainly know, following Belgium's condemnation, the European Commission opened an infringement procedure on January 16 against Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg and Ireland in order to modify the laws and regulations of these countries foreseeing free public lending by public libraries and other public institutions. Furthermore, you may probably know that protest demonstrations have already begun in Spain and Italy to defend the preservation of the exemption of any type of "taxation" on the loans at public libraries.

  We do not know what idea of Europe corresponds to the intention to introduce the payment of a tax for the lending services at libraries. It is certainly not the idea of a Europe of freedom and promotion of culture. Public libraries –as well as those belonging to general interest institutions of a cultural, scientific or educational nature– operate to guarantee free, unlimited access by citizens to study, to culture and to information. They play a fundamental role in the development and preservation of a democratic society, enabling the access by all citizens, even those less resourceful ones, to a vast range of thoughts, ideas and opinions (IFLA/UNESCO Guidelines for Development of Public Library Service, 2001). They help to acquire and enhance reading habits, especially among children and youth. They guarantee the distribution, preservation and accessibility to all types of works, overcoming any financial interests, any limits in the scope of distribution and any market impositions. They carry out their activities with no profit motive and for no financial or commercial purposes, only pursuing the objective of the cultural, educational and personal development of those using their services, therefore operating for the improvement of the educational level of society.

For these reasons, we believe the intention of the Commission to initiate an infringement procedure to impose the payments for loans is at risk of becoming an assault on citizenship rights and of taking civil space from those who have more limited resources and are excluded, in any ways whatsoever, from access to culture and information.

  Forcing libraries to reserve part of their budgets for the payment of "lending rights" also means reducing their funds for the acquisition of new books or the organization of other important services that are offered to the citizens. In Italy, for instance, the imposition of taxes on book loans would certainly aggravate a situation in which possessing books and reading already involve a minority of the population.

It is absolutely untrue that authors lose buyers due to the fact that their books can be read for free at libraries. The truth is quite the opposite: libraries help to promote their books, making them known and keeping them available for years, whereas at bookstores, in the best cases, they do not last more than a few months. This is exactly what maintains the cultural presence of many authors who would otherwise disappear from the literary arena almost completely!

On the other hand, libraries –both through their main and secondary activities (such as organizing and linking reading groups, seminars, presentations, lectures, exhibits, meetings with authors, etc.)– favour and sustain the love for reading more than any other public or private institution, and this all benefits the authors directly.

Mr. President,

  We call upon you for the Commission not to adopt a strictly bureaucratic view, in order to try to find the right balance for the interests of authors, publishing firms, and general society. We are writing to you for the Commission not to impose the payment of a tax on book loans at libraries and public and research institutions in the member States of the EU, maintaining and promoting the provisions of Article 5 of Directive 92/100/EEC on lending rights and therefore leaving untouched the capacity of every Member State to exempt certain institutions from paying this remuneration.

It should be in the interest of the Commission to focus on the preservation of the value of the lending services provided by libraries and other institutions, since they also benefit the author as a citizen and a creator. Lending services are a fundamental tool for instilling reading habits in people, making them consumers of the authors' work; they are also fundamental for the support of teaching and research.

For all the aforementioned reasons, we would like to express our opinion OPPOSING the possibility that public lending services at libraries and other research institutions, which are currently exempt from the payment of remunerations in accordance with copyright laws, may be subject to the payment of a remuneration. We therefore would like to request you, in the European Commission, to act in this direction.

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Elaborated by Bibl'aria (Italy) upon an internal draft of 13/02/2004, and overhauled during the Convention of Cologno Monzese of 21/02/2004 with other professionals of the field and with the legal advising of Marco Marandola, expert on the copyright accredited to the European library associations. English translation by Marco Marandola with the collaboration of Pietro Tumminello of  Bibl'aria.