CFL adapted for the use in the western Balkans

EIFL is delighted to announce that "Copyright for Librarians" (CFL) is now available online and in print in the Serbian language. The printed version has been distributed for use in academic libraries in Serbia and to national and university libraries in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The online version is freely available to download from PHAIDRA, the repository of the University of Belgrade, established in June 2012 to permanently archive and manage digital objects at the University.

The CFL text was translated into Serbian (Latin script) by Dr. Stela Filipi Matutinovic, librarian at Svetozar Marković University Library, the main library of the University of Belgrade, with support from Professor Dr. Dragan Prlja, a legal expert at the University's Institute of Comparative Law, who reviewed and amended the text. The work was done as part of “New Library Services at Western Balkan universities”, a project of the EU TEMPUS programme, which supports the modernization of higher education in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean region.

“Until recently, copyright was not widely known about by librarians in Serbia. However technical modernization, integration of academic library systems in the region, and the establishment of open access repositories means that a clear copyright policy must be in place to manage electronic materials before they go online”, said Dr. Stela Filipi Matutinovic. To fill the gap, the TEMPUS project team decided to use the up-to-date and freely available curriculum developed by EIFL and Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. The new resource is being used to conduct training courses for librarians, and is recommended reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Library and Information Science (LIS) at the University of Belgrade. 'I adapted the case studies in the curriculum into short texts that describe the practical problems and possible solutions for librarians and professors. I hope that the new resource contributes to the transformation of communication in science in the western Balkans, that will benefit education throughout the region', said Dr. Filipi Matutinovic.

The translation has already sparked interest. In March 2013, EIFL co-organized a meeting in Bosnia and Herzegovina with around 50 librarians and ministry officials to discuss the development of the library consortium, Electronic Information Consortium of Bosnia and Herzegovina (EICBIH) and consortial access to e-resources. Participants, who affirmed the issue of copyright as a challenge on many levels, were informed about “CFL Srpski” available online and in print from the TEMPUS team. We hope that the new resource is a good start to help answer some of the questions.

EIFL warmly congratulates Stela and the TEMPUS team in Belgrade for taking the initiative to translate and adapt CFL for use in the region.

Visit the CFL webpage for more translations and formats.