News from Canada on CDL

Christina de Castell, Chief Librarian & CEO of Vancouver Public Library (and founding member of ReadersFirst) and Jennifer Sterling (Digital Library Services & Collection Manager, Mississauga Library and ReadersFirst Working Group Member) have shared news from Canada that represents an important step in advocacy for Controlled Digital Lending (CDL)—libraries digitizing print works they have acquired, holding the print copy in an archive, and circulating the digital copy one patron at a time with protection to prevent duplication. CDL is a vital tool for libraries to preserve and share works sustainably. ReadersFirst applauds this addition to the growing literature that justifies library use of CDL.

Ms. de Castell notes that the Canadian Federation of Library Association's (CFLA) “position statement on Controlled Digital Lending is now published and available on the CFLA website at http://cfla-fcab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CFLA-CDL-Position-Statement-2022-10-22.docx-2.pdf.”

She adds the following”

In addition, the CDL background paper is available to support libraries and their legal counsel, “Controlled Digital Lending of Library Books in Canada” in the journal Partnership:  The Canadian Journal of Library Practice and Research, Vol. 17 No. 2 (2022): https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/7100 . This paper provides a high level overview of the legal and policy rationales for the process of controlled digital lending in Canada, as well as a variety of risk factors and practical considerations that can guide libraries seeking to implement such lending, with the intention of supporting informed choices about controlled digital lending at Canadian libraries.

 The paper was published in draft on SSRN for feedback in February 2022, and the authors thank those who provided comments towards a stronger paper. French versions of the position statement and paper are forthcoming.

While Canadian copyright laws differ from those in the United States somewhat, but the description of the uses of CDL and its legal support are similar across borders and welcome to see. ReadersFirst salutes the growing international advocacy for a practice that is fair, based on standard library practice, and valuable for preservation and content sharing, especially of out-of-print materials.