Libre knowledge
Encyclopedia
Libre knowledge is knowledge which may be acquired, interpreted and applied freely. It can be re-formulated according to one's needs, and shared with others for community benefit.
The term refers to the cultural movement of free/libre knowledge inspired by the principles of free software
, the success of peer production
in the development of free software
(and Wikipedia
) and a conviction that knowledge should be accessible and sharable without restrictions.
) on the Internet. For this reason, a definition of libre knowledge was formulated based on the definition of free software
by the Free Software Foundation
which shares this concern:
Users of libre knowledge are free to
use the work for any purpose
study its mechanisms, to be able to modify and adapt it to their own needs
make and distribute copies, in whole or in part
enhance and/or extend the work and share the result.
Freedoms 1 and 3 require free file formats and free software
as defined by the Free Software Foundation
Such resources are central to movements associated with free software
, free culture
, and free knowledge, etc., and are used by libre communities - for example, for learning (see libre learning below).
The libre manifesto
indicates some of the values behind such movements.
Use of the term "libre resources" emerged from discussions of free/libre knowledge as a generalisation.
Below are listed some relevant references and additional historical notes:
Some of the discussions leading to the emergence of the ideas of "libre resources" (above) and libre communities occurred during workshops in a project originally called "Free Knowledge Communities", and later Libre Communities.
The primary concern was the need to provide access to learning resources for the developed world - resources which would inevitably need to be recontextualised and adapted for local use. It would also be beneficial if the recipients of such resources are free to adapt and distribute derived works without restriction.
The intent is to encourage people concerned with open content (etc.) to distinguish "open" from "free/libre", to understand Copyleft
, and to license resources accordingly, to enable a "copy-modify, mix and share" (free or "read-write") culture and society.
Discussions along these lines may be found in (for example) the forums and at conferences of the Open educational resources
communities, discussions about Free software
and free culture
.
These are likely to continue as the GNU General Public License
and Creative Commons licenses
evolve in response to contemporary issues associated with the freedom of users.
The term refers to the cultural movement of free/libre knowledge inspired by the principles of free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
, the success of peer production
Peer production
Peer production is a way of producing goods and services that relies on self-organizing communities of individuals who come together to produce a shared outcome. The production of content by the general public rather than by paid professionals and experts in the field...
in the development of free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
(and Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
) and a conviction that knowledge should be accessible and sharable without restrictions.
Libre (or free) knowledge
Advocates of libre knowledge (aka free knowledge) believe that the freedom of knowledge is under threat on account of attempts to restrict or control sharing of information (or explicit knowledgeExplicit knowledge
Explicit knowledge is knowledge that has been or can be articulated, codified, and stored in certain media. It can be readily transmitted to others. The information contained in encyclopedias are good examples of explicit knowledge....
) on the Internet. For this reason, a definition of libre knowledge was formulated based on the definition of free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
by the Free Software Foundation
Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
which shares this concern:
- "Libre Knowledge is explicit knowledgeExplicit knowledgeExplicit knowledge is knowledge that has been or can be articulated, codified, and stored in certain media. It can be readily transmitted to others. The information contained in encyclopedias are good examples of explicit knowledge....
released in such a way that users are free to read, listen to, watch, or otherwise experience it; to learn from or with it; to copy, adapt and use it for any purpose; and to share derived works similarly (as free knowledge) for the common good."
Users of libre knowledge are free to
use the work for any purpose
study its mechanisms, to be able to modify and adapt it to their own needs
make and distribute copies, in whole or in part
enhance and/or extend the work and share the result.
Freedoms 1 and 3 require free file formats and free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
as defined by the Free Software Foundation
Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
Libre resources
The term "libre resources" refers to resources represented on a device or medium such as files in an open/free format containing text, an image, sound, multimedia, etc. or combinations of these, accessible with free software, and released under a license which grants users the freedom to access, read, listen to, watch, or otherwise experience the resource; to learn with, copy, perform, adapt and use it for any purpose; and to contribute and share enhancements or derived works.Such resources are central to movements associated with free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
, free culture
Free Culture movement
The free culture movement is a social movement that promotes the freedom to distribute and modify creative works in the form of free content by using the Internet and other forms of media....
, and free knowledge, etc., and are used by libre communities - for example, for learning (see libre learning below).
The libre manifesto
Libre Manifesto
The Libre Manifesto is a manifesto calling for art and culture to recognise and reject the movement towards commodification and capitalism. Written by the Libre Society, it is an open call to sharing art, music and literature....
indicates some of the values behind such movements.
Use of the term "libre resources" emerged from discussions of free/libre knowledge as a generalisation.
Libre learning
Knowledge and learning go hand-in hand. Libre Learning is (potentially collaborative, social constructionist learning) unfettered by overly restrictive licenses using libre resources. The term is associated with visions such as "freedom to learn" - liberating education and learning - deemed appropriate in countries where the public educational systems are not able to meet all the needs, encouraging and enabling civil society to take the initiative and augment the public education systems.Historical notes and references
It may be argued that the concepts of free/libre knowledge and non-free knowledge have been around ever since humans have been capable of communicating. Academic discourse on these concepts is not new, though in recent years the debate has become particularly heated with the advent of the Internet and the ease with which knowledge may be shared.Below are listed some relevant references and additional historical notes:
- 1954: Mark Van DorenMark Van DorenMark Van Doren was an American poet, writer and a critic, apart from being a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thinkers including Thomas Merton, Robert Lax, John Berryman, and Beat Generation...
:
- 2001 Fle3 announcementFle3Fle3 is a Web-based learning environment or virtual learning environment. More precisely Fle3 is server software for computer supported collaborative learning ....
- "Fle3 - libre software for (libre) knowledge building"
- 2002: The Budapest Open Access InitiativeBudapest Open Access InitiativeThe Budapest Open Access Initiative was a conference convened by the Open Society Institute on December 1-2, 2001. This small gathering of individuals is recognised as one of the major historical, and defining, events of the open access movement....
called for "open access" to research in all fields.
- 2002: a collection of essays by Richard StallmanRichard StallmanRichard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
was published which captures much of the philosophy of Libre Knowledge albeit in the software sense.
- Early this century academic publishers started thinking about open access and many have released scientific content under Creative CommonsCreative CommonsCreative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
licenses. The Directory of Open Access JournalsDirectory of Open Access JournalsThe Directory of Open Access Journals is website maintained by Lund University which lists open access journals. The project defines open access journals as scientific and scholarly journals that meet high quality standards by exercising peer review or editorial quality control and "use a funding...
lists several, though the degrees of freedom vary (many are disseminating Open KnowledgeOpen KnowledgeOpen Knowledge is a term used to denote a set of principles and methodologies related to the production and distribution of knowledge works in an open manner...
).
- The free/libre knowledge definition above was inspired by the Free SoftwareFree softwareFree software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
definition and by a posting on Jimmy WalesJimmy WalesJimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as a co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia and the Wikia company....
's blog "Free Knowledge requires Free Software and Free File Formats".
- Lawrence LessigLawrence LessigLawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications, and he has called for state-based activism to promote substantive...
has published several books which discuss the tension between a desired free, read/write Internet culture and control via technical means. These include Free Culture, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Code: Version 2.0 and The Future of Ideas.
- 2004 Yochai BenklerYochai BenklerYochai Benkler is an Israeli-American professor of Law and author. Since 2007, he has been the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School. He is also a faculty co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.- Biography :In 1984, Benkler...
published "Coase's Penguin" introducing a new mode of production for the 21st Century.
- 2006 Yochai Benkler published The Wealth of NetworksThe Wealth of NetworksThe Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom is a book by law professor Yochai Benkler published by Yale University Press on April 3, 2006....
which expands on the concept of commons-based peer production.
- 2007 Charlotte Hess and Elinor Ostrom edited a book called "Understanding Knowledge as a Commons: from theory to practice" which reflects current interest in this phenomenon and some of the history of the knowledge commonsKnowledge commonsThe knowledge commons encompass immaterial and collectively owned goods in the information age. Normatively loaded, it promotes free share of knowledge...
.
- 2007 Kim Tucker released the Say "Libre" essay clarifying use of this term in preference to "open" where applicable.
Some of the discussions leading to the emergence of the ideas of "libre resources" (above) and libre communities occurred during workshops in a project originally called "Free Knowledge Communities", and later Libre Communities.
The primary concern was the need to provide access to learning resources for the developed world - resources which would inevitably need to be recontextualised and adapted for local use. It would also be beneficial if the recipients of such resources are free to adapt and distribute derived works without restriction.
The intent is to encourage people concerned with open content (etc.) to distinguish "open" from "free/libre", to understand Copyleft
Copyleft
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
, and to license resources accordingly, to enable a "copy-modify, mix and share" (free or "read-write") culture and society.
Discussions along these lines may be found in (for example) the forums and at conferences of the Open educational resources
Open educational resources
Open educational resources are digital materials that can be re-used for teaching, learning, research and more, made available for free through open licenses, which allow uses of the materials that would not be easily permitted under copyright alone...
communities, discussions about Free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
and free culture
Free Culture
Free Culture may refer to:* Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig* Free culture movement, a social movement for free culture...
.
These are likely to continue as the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
and Creative Commons licenses
Creative Commons licenses
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
evolve in response to contemporary issues associated with the freedom of users.
See also
- Free contentFree contentFree content, or free information, is any kind of functional work, artwork, or other creative content that meets the definition of a free cultural work...
- Free Culture movementFree Culture movementThe free culture movement is a social movement that promotes the freedom to distribute and modify creative works in the form of free content by using the Internet and other forms of media....
and the bookFree Culture (book)Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity is a book by law professor Lawrence Lessig that was released on the Internet under the Creative Commons Attribution/Non-commercial license on March 25, 2004."There has never been a... - Free standardsFree standardsA free/libre standard is a standard whose specification is publicly available. Users of a free standard have the same freedoms associated with free software, and the freedom to participate in its development process. The standardisation process typically requires a complete free software reference...
- Freedom (philosophy)
- Freedom (political)Freedom (political)Political freedom is a central philosophy in Western history and political thought, and one of the most important features of democratic societies...
- Libre SocietyLibre SocietyThe Libre Society is a radical artistic and cultural movement that is committed to releasing free/libre/open-source art, music and literature. The Libre Society released a manifesto, called the Libre Manifesto, as its call to action....
- Open access (publishing)
- Open hardware
- Open KnowledgeOpen KnowledgeOpen Knowledge is a term used to denote a set of principles and methodologies related to the production and distribution of knowledge works in an open manner...
- Open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
- Open source appropriate technologyOpen Source Appropriate TechnologyOpen-source appropriate technology refers to technologies that are designed in the same fashion as free and open-source software. These technologies must be "appropriate technology" – meaning technology that is designed with special consideration to the environmental, ethical, cultural, social,...
- Knowledge commonsKnowledge commonsThe knowledge commons encompass immaterial and collectively owned goods in the information age. Normatively loaded, it promotes free share of knowledge...
- EdupunkEdupunkEdupunk is an approach to teaching and learning practices that result from a do it yourself attitude. The New York Times defines it as "an approach to teaching that avoids mainstream tools like PowerPoint and Blackboard, and instead aims to bring the rebellious attitude and D.I.Y...
- Jimbo Wales' declaration of how Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia
External resources
Organisations promoting free/libre knowledge
(implicitly or explicitly)- Access to Knowledge
- Alliance for Taxpayer Access (ATA)
- The Appropedia FoundationAppropediaAppropedia is a website for collaborative solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development, with a particular focus on appropriate technology. Appropedia is a wiki-based website like Wikipedia, a website where a large number of participants are allowed to create and...
- Enabling Open Scholarship (EOS)
- Free Knowledge FoundationFree Knowledge FoundationThe Free Knowledge Foundation or FKF is an organization aiming to promote Free Knowledge, including Free Software and Free Standards...
- Free Knowledge InstituteFree Knowledge InstituteThe Free Knowledge Institute is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2006 in The Netherlands. Inspired by the Free Software movement, the FKI fosters the free exchange of knowledge in all areas of society by promoting freedom of use, modification, copying and distribution of knowledge in four...
- Hipatia - Free knowledge in action for the people of the world
- Libre.org
- Open Knowledge FoundationOpen Knowledge FoundationThe Open Knowledge Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that promotes open knowledge, including open content and open data. It was founded 24 May 2004 in Cambridge, UK...
(http://www.okfn.org/) - Open Source Geodata
- OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. Two major driving forces behind the establishment and growth of OSM have been restrictions on use or availability of map information across much of the world and the advent of inexpensive portable GPS devices.The...
- Public Library of Science
- Science CommonsScience CommonsScience Commons is a Creative Commons project for designing strategies and tools for faster, more efficient web-enabled scientific research. The organization identifies unnecessary barriers to research, crafts policy guidelines and legal agreements to lower those barriers, and develops technology...
- SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)
- COL via WikiEducator