The knowledge levels and attitudes of university librarians in Turkey regarding copyrights

A library refers to a collection of works in different media and formats arranged according to a certain system. The primary purpose of libraries is to meet the information needs of the user group they serve and, at the same time, protect cultural memory. On the other hand, copyright regulations are made to determine and protect the author's rights and to regulate the conditions for benefiting from the works. The common ground of copyrights and libraries is the "work." It is not possible to think of libraries independently from copyright issues, from the building of their collections to their use, or to evaluate, plan, or provide library services apart from copyrights. It is expected that librarians, who work in libraries that take a leading role in the scientific communication process from the production of information to its use and who bring together the works in the collection with the users, should also be well-equipped with copyright issues. The librarians' knowledge of copyrights will not only be reflected in the services to be provided but will also enable society to be aware of copyrights and contribute to legal regulations as a conscious professional member. This study examines the knowledge levels, attitudes, and behaviors of library managers and librarian personnel working in university libraries in Turkey regarding copyright in the context of library services. The study aims at revealing the relationship between the knowledge levels, attitudes, and behaviors of university librarians in Turkey regarding copyright in the context of library services. In this context, the hypothesis of the study is determined as follows: "There are problems with copyright in library services since university librarians in Turkey do not have enough information about copyrights." The research includes the managers and librarians who graduated from the "Department of Librarianship"" or "Department of Information and Record Management" and are working in the libraries of 203 university libraries in Turkey, of which 129 are state universities and 74 are foundation universities. The population of the research consists of a total of 1523 people, including 195 library managers and 1328 librarians (working as a librarian or a lecturer) working in 203 university libraries, whose contact information is accessible. According to the information received from 116 library managers and 265 librarians, only 13.5% of the librarians think that they are equipped to provide information about copyright. 37.8% of librarians think they are not equipped enough in this regard. Considering that the rate of those who think that they do not have enough equipment to provide information about copyrights is evaluated together with the rate of those who think that it is partially sufficient, we can say that 86.5% of the librarians think that they are insufficient in this regard. In addition, the data obtained has revealed that more than half of the library managers (55.2%) and more than 70% of the librarians have not taken any courses or training during their university education, and that librarians working in the university libraries consider their knowledge of copyright insufficient. This situation has also impacted the regulations, directives, policies, procedures, and principles or warning texts that regulate the library services of university libraries. On the other hand, when the relevant documents on the web pages of the university libraries are examined, it is seen that the subject of copyright and the Law on Intellectual and Artistic Works have not been adequately addressed, so the necessary arrangements have not been made. According to the study's findings, librarians, who are at the center of scientific studies and who put intellectual and artistic works into service or use, or mediate their use, should be professionals who know how to behave sensitively toward copyright issues and who have the level of knowledge to raise public awareness on this issue. For this reason, it is suggested that studies should be carried out to eliminate the lack of knowledge of university librarians. In this context, a training program proposal was also created. In addition, it has been suggested that along with the creation of common policy texts for services in university libraries, the subject of copyright in these texts be processed and applied in accordance with the legislation.