LACA is urging the UK Government to fully and clearly legitimise the principle that the right to read should mean the right to mine in UK; this is essential to maintain the UK’s competitive edge and keep it at the forefront of global research, and to further develop the UK economy. This principle was already enshrined in the London Manifesto for Fair Copyright Reform for Libraries and Archives in Europe, which has signatures from over 125 institutions and organisations in the UK and beyond, and has been amplified by a recent report commissioned by the UK Government on Growing the artificial intelligence industry in the UK.

LACA has written to Jo Johnson MP, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, and Matt Hancock MP, Minister of State for Digital, to urge the Government to take seriously the text and data mining recommendation of the AI report and the principle that the right to read should be the right to mine.

(December 2017)