Written by: Matt Sheehan
The Rosary Hall Library recently began a controlled digital lending policy that provides access to digitized books within our owned collection. Users can browse books accessible via CDL from our OneSearch catalog by searching b8: Library of Things.
Controlled digital lending is a secure method for lending digitized print books practiced at public and academic libraries, the largest being the Internet Archives’ lending collection of over 3 million items. While existing case law for CDL is scarce, the U.S. Copyright Act is interpreted by institutions and legal scholars to protect its practice under Sections 109 (“First Sale”) and 107 (“Fair Use”).
The Library’s Collection Discussion Group assessed these arguments among the other positions outlined in “A White Paper on Controlled Digital Lending of Library Books” (2018) and agree with its conclusion that the selective digitization of print books is permissible as long as controls on selection criteria and sharing are in place.
The Library’s print collection contains over 20,000 items supporting student research and lifelong learning. We believe that CDL will carry a positive impact as many students will be able to engage with texts in a preferred format. Offering this digital alternative supports our mission to provide equitable access to library resources.
How do I receive access to a digitized print book?
Albertus Magnus College students, faculty and staff can locate items available through CDL by searching b8: Library of Things on the Library’s OneSearch. Searching b8 filters brings you to a specific shelving location. After identifying a book for which digitized access is needed, select the book’s title.
Under Access Options, select the Request button. Our library system will receive the link request for the digitized book. The link is sent to your Albertus email account and is accessible for 21 days.
Which books are available through controlled digital lending?
Users can now access three titles through CDL. The Library has an ambitious goal of growing the number of available titles to nearly 170 by the end of FY24; the majority of these titles are catalogued under Auxiliary Sciences of History (Archaeology, Archaeography, Diplomatics, Philology, etc.).
I am a faculty member. Can I request a book for digitization?
Digitization is determined by subject area, format, and publication year. Faculty can submit a digitization request for eligible items, which are accessible within a 3 week period from the Library’s acknowledgement of the request.
I am a faculty member. Can I share the link to the digitized book with students or post it in eLearning?
These books cannot be openly accessible to other users or posted in eLearning because their digital lending must mirror print lending. Books accessible through CDL are also owned in print by the Library. If one print copy is owned, then that permits one link to the digitized version. This ‘own-to-loan’ ratio is codified as the first sale doctrine at 17 U.S.C. § 109. Books accessible through CDL are not considered open access and users are unable to print, download, and/or re-share the digitized book.
How are books selected for digitization?
In addition to subject area, selection is determined by format and publication year. Eligible titles are nonfiction works published prior to the year 2000. At this time, the Library will not be digitizing items that fit this selection criteria but are classified as textbooks.
After digitization, the print book is shelved “off-site” to ensure that digital access does not overlap with loaning the item in print.
What is the legal premise that supports controlled digital lending?
Advocates argue that the first sale doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 109) provides the legal framework enabling the practice of controlled digital lending. 17 U.S.C. § 109 states that “the owner of a particular copy or phonorecord lawfully made under this title, or any person authorized by such owner, is entitled, without the authority of the copyright owner, to sell or otherwise dispose of the possession of that copy or phonorecord” [1]. In essence, because libraries lawfully acquire their collection through purchases and donations, they are enabled by Section 109 to lend these items perpetually. Controlled digital lending is essentially the adaptation of traditional lending to a digital environment.
Many legal scholars who argue in favor of controlled digital lending rely upon a coupling of Section 109 with 107 (fair use). Much more can be said enumerating fair use criteria for controlled digital lending, but in summation controlled digital lending proponents emphasize the compatibility of Section 109’s first sale doctrine with fair use principles, asserting that these combined provisions not only facilitate broader access to digital content but also help strike a balance between the rights of copyright holders and the right to information and education.
[1] “U.S.C. Title 17 – COPYRIGHTS.” Accessed November 7, 2023. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2010-
title17/html/USCODE-2010-title17-chap1-sec109.htm.