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Government lawyers have confirmed that public libraries would be legally in the clear if they wanted to charge for e-books that are downloaded remotely.
According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, no change in legislation is necessary for libraries to apply a charge. Several libraries had called for clarification in the face of increased demand for new e-lending services, but with no extra money to pay for them.
A DCMS spokesman said: "Libraries would be able to charge under the present law. To prevent it would need separate clauses in the legislation. Libraries have made the decision not to charge for e-books, but they could have done."
This will remain the case even after the introduction of the Digital Economy bill, which provides for PLR to be extended to e-books accessed within library premises. Books downloaded remotely are treated differently because of the nature of copyright law.
Katie Pekacar, MLA policy adviser, facilitates a community of practice of 23 libraries. She said: "Charging is something that library services are having to consider. DCMS is working to produce guidance about it. Potentially it’s quite a tricky area, and it’s really hard to know how to proceed. What are the implications of charging? It’s a small market, and charging could restrict it. But library services are concerned — it’s a new service, and it needs paying for."
However Martin Palmer, principal officer for libraries, at Essex, which helped to develop the Overdrive e-lending platform, said it contradicted the ethos of public libraries to charge for books.
"It’s basically reading and we don’t charge for reading. I don’t see why e-books should be any different to print books, it’s about reading and that should be a free service." Demand for e-books has shot up over the past year as more people own their own e-reading devices, he added.
Fiona Williams, president of the Society of Chief Librarians, agreed: "An e-book is a book, and loans should be made free of charge just as books are lent."
None of the existing e-book platforms used by libraries currently has a charging mechanism built in.