Digital Public Library of America wants to lend copyrighted works

As the Digital Public Library of America grows, the founders intend for it to cover a much wider world of material, including works that are still protected by copyright.

One founder, Harvard’s University Librarian, Robert Darnton, has said that they’re working to build “a non-commercial library that would make the cultural heritage of America available to all Americans and to everyone in the world with access to the Internet.” And to do that, the library’s founders, board members, and staff will have to figure how the library will handle works still under copyright. They’ve been thinking about it for two and a half years already, ever since work began on this project. The library opened with only public domain works in its collection. There are plenty of other issues to tackle without getting tangled into copyright quite yet. The DPLA itself doesn’t hold copies of the works it provides access to; it’s a collection of standardized metadata that helps users find what they’re looking for and then directs them to the site where those books, documents, movies, and photos live. Last month’s launch started working out how the DPLA would partner with other institutions and start making its larger ambitions real.