I would caution against any premise that assumes digitization simply supplanting print media. After all, conventions for sabbath observance are well fixed in the Jewish tradition. One could hardly expect print formats to disappear so long as there are Jews observing traditional sabbath laws. Saying this, I am certain that digitization will improve print resources used by Jews at any point during the week, let alone Internet or cloud-based resources — with one important caveat. We need to think seriously about how this material is licensed.

The question of what formats improve access and dissemination is pressing. As cultural workers we should be interested in making access as inexpensive as possible to the source texts of Jewish culture. If we’re serious about this we will be mindful to use open standards and so-called “free culture” licensing that allows others to build on top of and improve our work.

Digitization and networks provide the foundation for easy dissemination of cultural work. So much of the legacy of our cultural inheritance is already in the Public Domain, and thus, free, but trapped in print media. The tragedy is that in the conversion from print to digital media, cultural workers are using closed standards and terms-of-use agreements which limit access to other cultural innovators. It is a real travesty when amazing and ambitious projects assume ownership of our common cultural heritage through onerous terms-of-use agreements. (See for example, Bar Ilan’s Responsa Project Terms-of-Use license.)

Cultures, including our own, breathe creativity and exhale innovation. We rely on the creative works bequeathed to us by earlier generations to remain rooted in our cultural identity. Synagogue members and kids in day schools, summer camps, youth orgs, and creative Jews working on their own can all benefit from our educational, cultural, and spiritual institutions cooperate with each other in sharing the bounty of our cultural heritage. As Jews, are we not all collaborating on a grand project of Torah learning, spiritual improvement, and tikkun olam? It’s time our cultural licensing reflects these profound intentions.