National Emergency Library

National Emergency Library. It was a temporary collection of over 1.4 million digitized books launched by the Internet Archive in March 2020 to provide emergency access during the widespread closure of physical libraries and schools. The initiative suspended the waitlist system used in its traditional controlled digital lending program, allowing unrestricted simultaneous access to its entire digital collection. It was created as a direct response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and operated for nearly three months before closing in June 2020 following significant legal and public controversy.

Background and creation

The project was conceived by Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle as an urgent response to the unprecedented shutdown of physical educational and cultural institutions worldwide. With libraries like the Library of Congress and university systems across the United States closing their doors, the need for remote access to materials became critical for students, researchers, and the general public. The Internet Archive, which had long engaged in the mass digitization of books, leveraged its existing Open Library platform and collections scanned from partnerships with libraries like the Boston Public Library. It was formally announced on March 24, 2020, with Kahle framing it as a necessary "national emergency" measure to serve displaced learners, citing the disaster provisions of copyright law in the United States.

Operation and access model

The service operated by removing the one-copy-one-user technical controls that typically governed its controlled digital lending program, which aimed to emulate the physical lending of owned copies. This allowed an unlimited number of users to borrow any of the scanned books simultaneously for a period of two weeks. The collection included modern works still under copyright protection, spanning genres from academic texts to contemporary fiction. Access was granted globally without requiring library membership or proof of need, requiring only a free account on the Open Library website. The platform utilized the same digital lending infrastructure developed for earlier projects like the Biodiversity Heritage Library but applied it at an unprecedented scale without restrictive queues.

Legal challenges and controversy

Almost immediately, the initiative faced fierce opposition from major publishing trade groups and authors' organizations. In April 2020, a coalition including the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild issued public condemnations, arguing the project constituted mass copyright infringement under the guise of charity. This led to a high-profile lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by four major publishers: Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House. The lawsuit, *Hachette v. Internet Archive*, argued the service was a willful violation of copyright that far exceeded the bounds of fair use doctrines, with critics comparing it to global piracy operations like Sci-Hub. Defenders, including some academics and librarians, invoked principles of universal access to knowledge and the crisis exceptions found in statutes like the Copyright Act of 1976.

Closure and aftermath

Facing immense legal pressure and public debate, the Internet Archive announced the early termination of the project on June 16, 2020, reinstating waitlists for its digital lending library. Brewster Kahle stated the decision was made to address concerns and focus resources on the impending litigation. The closure did not affect the separate lawsuit, which proceeded through the federal court system. In March 2023, Judge John G. Koeltl ruled summarily in favor of the publishers, determining that the Internet Archive's actions did not constitute fair use. The decision was a significant setback for the digital library movement and reaffirmed the primacy of licensing models championed by the publishing industry. The Internet Archive subsequently appealed the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Impact and legacy

The project sparked a lasting, complex debate about copyright, access, and digital ownership in times of crisis. It highlighted the tension between existing intellectual property frameworks and the practical needs of a digitally dependent society, a discussion echoed during other global events like the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For critics, it served as a cautionary tale against copyright overreach, while for supporters it became a symbol of resistance against restrictive publishing conglomerates like Elsevier and Springer Nature. The legal precedent set by *Hachette v. Internet Archive* continues to influence policies for libraries worldwide, affecting collaborations such as those with the Digital Public Library of America. Its brief operation also demonstrated the massive public demand for a more flexible digital lending ecosystem, influencing subsequent discussions around initiatives like Project Gutenberg and the Marrakesh Treaty.

Category:Internet Archive Category:Digital libraries Category:Copyright case law Category:2020 in computing