Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
Libraries don’t “buy” most e-books the way they buy print books; they license them. That reality is at the crossroads of budgetary constraints and patron satisfaction in modern libraries. With print, a library typically pays once, owns the copy, and lends it until it wears out. With e-books, publishers and intermediaries, like platforms such as OverDrive, commonly offer time-limited or loan-limit-ed terms (for example, a license that expires after a set number of checkouts or after a set period), can impose embargoes, and can set prices far above consumer retail. Libraries argue these terms frustrate their public mission and make it hard to meet demand; publishers respond that digital copies don’t degrade, can be distributed at near-zero marginal cost, and require a different business model to sustain authorship and publishing investment.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Kincaid C. Library e-book licensing and state law reform. Mich. B. J. 105, no. 5 (2026): 35-36.