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Comment by robonerd | Hacker News Reader

Libraries don't necessarily pay rights holders or authors. They buy books like anybody else, which means they sometimes buy books on the second hand market. And there's nothing wrong with that.

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Unlike physical books, the First sale doctrine doesn't apply to e-book licenses. Typically, the license expires after a couple of reads, and the rights holders has a say on how many times a copy may be lent out, and how many copies can be borrowed simultaneously using DRM - which means they can set the average price paid each time an e-book is borrowed.

I listened to a fascinating podcast on the history of Overdrive / Libby a few months back; might have been produced by NPR, but I sadly can't find it.

You're absolutely right, which is why the IA buys physical books, scans them, and makes them available online under so-called "Controlled Digital Lending". Renting out one digital copy at a time is covered by fair use, they argue, although it hasn't been tested in court.*

* That is expected as a part of the publishers lawsuit against the "National Emergency Library"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_digital_lending

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#National_Emer...

Thank you for the links - that is the disagreement with authors & publishers I was alluding to in my root comment at the start of the thread.

Lending multiple electronic copies of 1 physical book simultaneously was questionable behavior by the IA - emergency or not. I suspect a court would treat that a electronic reproduction of the work, and not fair use, IANAL. If you want to lend out 20 copies, buy 20 copies first (or procure 20 donations)

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