Wed 30 Jun, 2010
Libraries scan out-of-print, in-copyright books for digital “check out”
Comments (0) Filed under: Copyright, Open AccessMany library users today obtain their desired books from the convenience of their laptops or desktops computer, at most any time of the day or night and from nearly any location outside the library’s walls. Thanks to the growing e-book movement, libraries now offer thousands of current titles to their users with the click of a mouse. Additionally, libraries with historical materials from the early 20th century and back are scanning these rare (and out-of-copyright) materials for online viewing and download.
But between the contemporary e-books licensed from digital media companies such as Overdrive and netLibrary, and those locally digitized from library special collections is a large gap of books that are currently not available digitally. This class of works, representing about 90 years of book publishing, contain titles that are out-of-print and of less commercial value. Yet they may still be of great interest to library users. For this reason, a small collaborative of libraries has begun scanning their out-of-print (but still in-copyright) holdings in order to deliver them online as a service to their users. Working with the Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library, the libraries are uploading the digitally-reproduced books to Openlibrary, a one-stop website for checking out books.
The digitized books are available to be borrowed by one patron at a time from anywhere in the world. These books are in PDF and ePub formats, as well as Daisy for the print disabled. Users may choose the format as part of the borrowing process. The digital book loans are managed through Adobe Digital Editions, a free software application which must be downloaded and installed. Each loan expires after 2 weeks, and up to 5 books may be borrowed at a time. In consideration of copyright concerns, the library holding the physical copy from which the digital copy was scanned will avoid circulating the physical copy during the period of the digital loan.
Any user is eligible to take advantage of this innovative new service. To get started, create an Open Library account (it’s free, and minimal information is required to sign up) and get set up with the Adobe Digital Editions reader. Then go online to the Lending Library to browse and check out books.
Additional information about the program is available online. The copyright considerations underlying this program are untested and may prove to be an interesting situation to watch!