The Internet Archive (IA) is a nonprofit known best by those in the academic and library communities, and many writers use its tools, sometimes without even realizing it. Responsible for the Wayback Machine, which archives websites, IA has a mission of making all knowledge universally accessible. It tends to be celebrated by those on the “copyleft,” people who support a rich public domain and may believe copyright law is sorely in need of reform in the digital age. Its work is considered profoundly important by people concerned about the preservation of knowledge for generations to come.
In recent years, IA has been stirring up controversy by lending digital books through its Open Library—or acting as a public library—after it first digitizes a donated print copy. However, it does not pay authors or publishers for lending as public libraries normally do. It defends this practice as “controlled digital lending.” We explained this concept at length last year and explored whether it was legal. In short: no one can say, as it hasn’t been put to the test in court.
So far, the existence of the Open Library has presented minimal risk to publishers—vexing to be sure, but perhaps not worth the legal battle. Any ebook protected under copyright can be borrowed through the Open Library by only one person at a time, resulting in waitlists; ebook quality can be subpar; and the convenience factor is very low. (When was the last time you read an ebook using Adobe Digital Editions?) While the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers, among other advocacy organizations, have strongly denounced IA and accused it of copyright infringement, they have stopped short of going to court.
However, last week, the Internet Archive announced that it was dropping its restrictions on ebook lending to create a National Emergency Library to help readers during the coronavirus crisis. Now there are no more waitlists, and each title in its catalog of 1.4 million ebooks can be borrowed simultaneously by anyone worldwide at no cost—and with no compensation to publishers or authors. In Publishers Lunch, Michael Cader wrote (subscription required), “While no one is likely to take the Internet Archive to court during the crisis, this latest move makes an eventual lawsuit all but inevitable.” Based on our past conversations with experts in the field, we believe this is exactly what the IA intends—to force a court case that will lead to a change in copyright law for digital lending.
Even for those who believe copyright law needs reform, this is a bad look for the IA, demonstrating crass opportunism and carelessness at best, causing anxiety and harm during an economic downturn. More than a few publishers have dropped prices and restrictions for digital lending during the crisis in a show of solidarity and support—and might have been willing to offer the IA certain permissions if they had proactively asked. Some librarians (like this one) believe that the IA’s actions may do long-term damage to the publisher-library relationship.
For now, if you find your books available at the IA’s Open Library, you can opt out by sending an email to info@archive.org with “National Emergency Library Removal Request” as the subject line. Include the URL of each book you would like to have removed.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
