Reports the findings of research carried out by Project ACORN (Access to COurse Readings Across Networks), an eLib-funded experimental electronic short-loan service project, based at Loughborough University. Project ACORN staff conducted a postal survey of the 84 publishers approached for permission to digitise articles for the first phase of the service. The purpose of the survey was to elicit the views of publishers on various issues associated with electronic short-loan collections and the policies and procedures followed by publishers for granting electronic copyright clearance. The survey was followed up by four in-depth interviews with individual publishers. The findings show that there is little consensus in the policies and views of publishers, especially with regard to procedures followed by them for granting electronic copyright clearance or methods of charging. This makes seeking copyright permission time-consuming and complex for higher education libraries. However, most publishers look more favourably on requests from educational institutions. Publishers are wary of the electronic environment and there is some degree of conflict between publishers and libraries that wish to use new technology to deliver services. There has recently been some cooperation between publishers and the higher education community in working towards solutions, and publishers have shown a degree of enthusiasm for an intermediary working on behalf of libraries in electronic copyright clearance.
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