Climbing a mountain: Empowering researchers to use text and data mining

Authors & Affiliation

Robert Johnson and Andrea Chiarelli - French Association des directeurs et personnels de direction des bibliothèques universitaires et de la documentation (ADBU)

Abstract

This poster addresses the role of a copyright exception in empowering researchers to use text and data mining (TDM) applications. Our study looked at the UK, French, and European legislative environments, and uses case studies to assess the value of a copyright exception in advancing research and applications in this field. Our work shows that uptake of TDM remains low in the UK, despite the introduction of a copyright exception. France and, by extension, Europe, are likely to be in a similar situation, as clarity is needed on legal frameworks, access to content, infrastructure, skills and support, and incentives. We found that academic librarians can play a key role in enabling uptake of TDM by public researchers, and we make a series of recommendations on how stakeholders in the field should respond to the introduction of a copyright exception.