Individual authors and authors’ groups around the world are suing Cornell and four other universities, alleging that the universities’ library digitization projects are an illegal infringement of copyright law.

Administrators claim that the move will make entomology resources available to a wider community and free up space for the University in the process.

Open access — the free availability and use of library materials online — took another step forward this month when the Cornell University Library dropped restrictions on the reproduction of public domain items from its collections.

The Library no longer requires users to secure permission or pay any accompanying permissions fees to reproduce or publish material from its digital collections. This announcement, which comes amidst plans by the Cornell Library Board to establish a fund to support open access publishing, has been eagerly received by many in the online community.

According to a press statement, “the Library, as the producer of digital reproductions made from its collections, has in the past licensed the use of those reproductions.”