Locations like /var (pretty much everywhere but a user's home directory!) are protected from modification in order to prevent system problem and security breaches. In order to modify these areas you need to have superuser or root privileges. So, if you need to modify a file or folder in /var/lib, you must either prefix your command with 'sudo' when using the terminal:
Code:
sudo cp /var/lib/<somefile> /some/location/<somefile>
Or launch a file manager (e.g. Nautilus) with elevated permissions:
Hope that helps
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