Schwarzman Session - The End of Ownership

Schwarzman Sessions are peer-led gatherings where conversations generate collaborations and move ideas into action. Because seats are limited, registrants will be automatically placed on the waitlist and will be notified via email if they are selected to participate. 

Join Director of Copyright and Information Policy, Harvard Library, Kyle K. Courtney, and Director of Scholarly Communication and Collection Strategy, Yale Library Sandra Aya Enimil, for a discussion about the accelerating shift from ownership to licensing, and what we lose when “buy” starts to mean “temporary access on someone else’s terms.” From eBooks, streaming media, software, research databases, and even everyday devices, licensing has become the default model for access, control, and enforcement.

Together we’ll unpack how licensing reshapes consumer expectations, limits traditional rights like resale and preservation, and creates new forms of gatekeeping that particularly affect libraries, archives, museums, and universities. What happens to cultural heritage when collections can’t be truly owned, repaired, shared, or preserved? How do contracts and platform rules quietly displace public law and long-standing norms? And what tools (policy, procurement, and collective action) might move us back toward durable access and public stewardship?

Come hungry for a candid, cross-disciplinary conversation, and ready to think about what “ownership” should mean in a licensed world. Lunch provided.