1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i COVID-19 and Libraries: E-Books and Intellectual Property Issues April 28, 2020 With many states issuing stay-at-home orders, and many public library buildings closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, members
2、 of the public looking for reading material have increasingly turned to e-books. Yet even before the pandemic, libraries faced challenges in meeting patron demand for e-books. For example, in November 2019 the Washington Post reported months-long wait times to borrow high-demand e-books from major p
3、ublic libraries. The legal framework for lending physical books is different than that for e-books. While a library may generally lend a physical copy of a book in any manner it chooses, under current law a library may only lend an e-book in the manner approved by the copyright holder (usually the p
4、ublisher). Thus, for example, the publisher may limit the length of time during which the library may lend the e-book, the number of times the e-book may be checked out, or both. These limitations may restrict a librarys ability to meet patron demand. This Sidebar explains how copyright law governs
