Rhode Island lawmakers are adding a new chapter to the state’s commercial law to govern library ebook contracts. The proposal would cover public libraries, school libraries, tribal libraries, publicly supported academic and research libraries, special libraries that serve the public, talking book libraries and library consortia that receive public funds. It also reaches aggregators, the companies that license access to collections of electronic literary materials from multiple publishers.
The point is to keep a library’s digital shelves from being narrowed by contract language that does not match how libraries actually serve readers. H 7606 Substitute A as amended would create Chapter 13.4 in Title 6, which deals with commercial law and general regulatory provisions.
What publishers could not write into the fine print
Under the bill, those contracts would be governed by Rhode Island law. They could not block a library from licensing electronic books or digital audiobooks, using technological protection measures, making preservation copies or sharing materials through interlibrary loan systems.
The measure also would bar terms that interfere with lending itself, including limits on loan periods, forced per-circulation fees unless they are substantially lower than buying the item outright, or caps on how many times a title may be lent unless the publisher offers a reasonable perpetual-use option. Libraries would also be protected from contract language that forces them to disclose license terms to other libraries or gives up patron-record confidentiality.
Available vote records show the bill advanced without recorded no votes.
- Covers public and publicly funded libraries in Rhode Island
- Would protect preservation copies and interlibrary loan
- Would limit contract terms that cap lending or raise costs
- Would keep patron-record confidentiality in place
Sources
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