Polish libraries to charge for loans in compliance with EU copyright regulations

Within several years Polish readers will have to pay for borrowing some books from public libraries. As part of the negotiation process for admission to the European Union (EU), Poland has agreed to accept EU copyright laws before the end of 2002. There are currently 9,046 public libraries in Poland; last year they recorded nearly 150 million loans. According to librarians the yearly figure could drop drastically after Polish law complies with EU statutes. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A6