THE AWARENESS OF THE COPYRIGHT LAW AMONG LIBRARY USERS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN GHANA

Abstract

Since the passage of the copyright law, violation has been an issue even though the policy of “fair use” or “fair dealings” allows the reproduction of publications for educational and private use. This study therefore sought to investigate the extent to which library users in tertiary institutions in Ghana are aware of the copyright law. Data collected revealed that, most library users, for that matter students, are aware of copyright law and the consequences of violating the law, yet compliance with the law is low. It was also revealed that even though photocopying is a number one activity which violates the copyright law on campuses of tertiary institutions, not much is being done to enforce the law. Based on these findings, it has been recommended that, all stakeholders in education should ensure that adequate information resources are made available. Also, all stakeholders including librarians must support the implementation of the Reprographic Rights Organizations’ (RROs) license in their institutions to create fairness between right holders and users in the literary and the print industries.