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The deterioration of printed materials is a problem which is plaguing libraries worldwide. Preservation of these millions of volumes is a daunting task--many of the materials are so brittle that the lightest touch may damage them irrevocably. This paper explores the issues of maintaining preservation efficiency without infringing upon copyright laws. Six major sections explore these issues: (1) Background (the cause and magnitude of deterioration and the creation of the Commission of Preservation and Access in 1984); (2) The U.S. Copyright Scheme (the extent of public domain, copyright status of a work, the rights of and limitations on copyright owners); (3) Reprise--Applying the Act to the Brittle Books Preservation Program; (4) What Have Other Organizations Done about Copyright? (the Library of Congress, Research Libraries Group, National Library of Medicine, and University Microfilms); (5) A Review of Several Possible Solutions (negotiated agreements with publishers, reliance on Fair Use, amendment of the Copyright Act, collective licensing, internal royalty payment fund, creation of quasi-governmental corporation); and (6) Legislative or Other Follow-Up Action (decisions to be made, discussion and agreements among library groups, discussion with publishing community, and discussion with congressional staff and the Copyright Office. A list of the publishing organizations participating in the Copyright Clearance Center's Annual Authorizations Service as of January 1990 is appended. (214 footnotes) (MAB)