The British Library (above) has joined a group of leading institutions in calling for a clause to be passed allowing greater potential access to orphan works. © Andrew Dunn
Thousands of historic treasures could be lost to the public if the proposed passage of a clause relating to uncredited material is allowed to go ahead, a coalition of leading venues has warned.
The British Library, Tate and the British Film Institute are among a list of leading venues warning that limiting the scope of Clause 42 of the government’s Digital Economy Bill will "pose one of the greatest barriers to mass digitisation of content" held by institutions.
The group believe that cultural and educational bodies should be allowed to apply for a licence to digitise orphan works – items whose owners cannot be traced – under a flexible request system.
The items are thought to account for more than a third of UK national collections, restricting public access and leaving vaults of archive material unpublished.
The artefacts, described as having "enormous value to researchers", include photographs of British soldiers from the First and Second World Wars, mysteriously-voiced oral histories and anonymous letters, films and drawings.
"As it is envisaged, the Bill details a scheme for licensing to emerge once the Act is passed," explained British Library Chief Executive Lynne Brindley.
"We feel this is unsatisfactory. At this stage we believe that the expertise of cultural and education institutions should not be ruled out in the future licensing of Orphan Works.
"The educational and cultural sectors have a long history of respecting rights holders in the provision of access, combined with an unrivalled knowledge of the unique material that sits within their collections.
"The suggestion of an Orphan Works licence for such institutions, put forward under the Digital Economy Bill, would offer a flexible system enabling access to collections to be improved for the benefit of education and research around the world."
