When handheld ebook readers first came out, people wondered how they could ever hope to replace actual books, newspapers and magazines which are easier to read, caused less strain on the eyes, and were simply cheaper than any battery-powered device. Today, ebooks are becoming the preferred medium of choice for many, and libraries are beginning to jump onto the bandwagon.

All across America, libraries are expanding their selections digitally by scanning actual books and compiling them for lending. Library users have found that ebooks are easier to carry around when they’re already carrying a laptop or ebook reader, they can be used for the vision impaired, and they prevent users from having to go back to the library to return a stack of borrowed books.

In response, a group of brick-and-mortar libraries lead by a nonprofit digital library called the Internet Archives, joined forces late last month to create a website that will allow users to check out ebooks as they would from a local library. Among others, the Boston Public Library and the Marine Biological Laboratory will contribute scans of hundreds of books that are still in copyright but no longer sold commercially. These will be added to the more than one million scanned public domain books that the website will make available.

In true library essence, the website, OpenLibrary.org, will not simply allow borrowers to keep digital copies of their books indefinitely. Instead, these ebooks come with an expiry date. When the lending period is over, users will no longer be able to open the file and there will be nothing left to do but to delete it. Copyright laws are not exactly clear on digital copies but the plan is to only lease out the digital copy to one user at a time. While the digital copy is being borrowed, the physical copy will not be allowed to leave the library where the scan came from.

In my opinion, this is just the library’s way of changing with the times, and adapting new technologies in order to better deliver enhanced services. If the library has the right to lend out a physical copy, it should also be allowed to lend out digital copies as long as these copies are controlled. Even if detractors claim that this adversely affects the market for books, it could also spark a new interest in books for the younger generations.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about the Arts and Culture.