Why a Ruling Against The Internet Archive Threatens the Future of America’s Libraries

By:Chris Lewis (MIT Technology Review)

I grew up in the 1980s and ’90s, and for my generation—and those before us—the public library was a vital equalizer in every community, providing a pathway to the American dream. In Chantilly, Virginia, where I was raised, it didn’t matter if you didn’t have a computer or if your family couldn’t afford expensive tutors—you could still get a lifetime’s education for free at the public library. But a recent ruling by the US Second Circuit, siding with publisher Hachette against the Internet Archive, threatens that promise of equal access by restricting libraries’ ability to lend digital books.

To understand why this matters for the future of libraries, it’s essential to first recognize the difficult situation libraries face with e-book lending.

Traditionally, libraries have operated on a simple model: once they purchase a physical book, they can lend it out indefinitely. Books might come from publishers, donations, used book sales, or other libraries. However they acquire the book, it belongs to the library to lend freely.

That’s not the case with digital books. To offer e-books, libraries must pay publishers repeatedly. First, they must subscribe (for a fee) to e-book platforms like Overdrive, which control the content libraries can access. These platforms, like streaming services such as Max, can remove content at any time without the library’s input—decisions made by corporations far removed from the communities they impact.

On top of subscription fees, libraries must also purchase individual copies of e-books, often at steep markups—sometimes up to 300% more than the consumer price. Worse, these digital copies come with restrictions: they expire after a certain number of loans, forcing libraries to repurchase the same titles again and again.

This model places immense financial pressure on libraries and, by extension, the taxpayers who support them. It also raises significant privacy concerns, as private companies handling digital lending are not bound by the same privacy safeguards that protect physical library records.

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