Remaining Challenges of the Marrakesh Treaty: A Tool for Social Inclusion Through Libraries

Abstract

In 2013 the Marrakesh Treaty was agreed to allow the production and distribution of copies in accessible formats for people with difficulties, as well as cross-border sharing. The documentary research technique is used on the origin and implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty and an interview about it with 60 participants of a course on the Development of Collections in Libraries. All of them holding management positions in libraries in Spain, Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador, countries in which said Treaty has been ratified. In May 2017, a political agreement was reached that opened the door to the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty. In September 2021, it was ratified in 79 countries, but without achieving the desired success in its implementation. From the interview, deficiencies have been identified to avoid and proposals to be executed to achieve the expected impact. The objectives of the Treaty will not be achieved only with the modification of national laws, it is necessary the exchange of experiences on the part of the people who have dedicated years of work in this common good worldwide.