Digitization and Lending of Print Books

Copyright: the sole right to produce or reproduce a work or a substantial part of it in any form. If the work is unpublished, copyright includes the right to publish the work or any substantial part of it. Copyright provides protection for literary, artistic, dramatic or musical works (including computer programs) and other subject-matter known as performer's performances, sound recordings and communication signals.1

Digitization: The process of creating a digital representation of a physical object.

Licence: A licence allows someone else to use a work for certain purposes and under certain conditions. The copyright owner still retains ownership.

Public Domain: Works in the public domain can be used free of charge and do not require written permission from the author/creator. Works can be in the public domain for a variety of reasons, for example: the term of the copyright has expired, the work was not eligible for copyright protection in the first place, or the copyright owner has authorized the public to use the work without permission or payment.2

Interlibrary Loan: Interlibrary loan is the process by which an individual library requests material from, or supplies material to, another library for use by a specific patron.

VPL supports the implementation of UNDRIP Article 13: Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons, as well as Article 11: Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.

VPL will respect Indigenous peoples’ rights over their works and the representation of Indigenous peoples in our collections. VPL will work collaboratively with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations to establish protocols for digitization of books and other materials that are authored by or depict peoples of these Nations, and will seek and follow protocols from other Indigenous peoples as applicable for materials held by VPL that are being considered for digitization.

1. Public libraries provide a foundation for literacy and a strong reading culture in Canada. Libraries’ collections depend on a healthy book industry, where creators are motivated to write and disseminate their works, and the infrastructure exists for publishing and distribution, including library lending. Libraries have an additional role in ensuring the preservation of Canada’s published literary heritage, and providing access to this history in formats that are accessible to all library users, and in ways that support learning and the acquisition of knowledge.

2. Principles

• Authors and other rights holders are entitled to remuneration for reproduction of their works, within the limitations of the Copyright Act, including fair dealing and library exceptions and limitations.
• Born-digital works offer the most user-friendly version for library patrons, therefore, VPL will not digitize print books when an accessible digital copy is available for licence from an existing VPL ebook provider
• VPL will attempt to contact the rights holder identified in the print book for permission prior to digitizing an in-copyright book
• VPL will remove digitized books from library collections at the request of legitimate rights holders
• At any one time, VPL will only lend the number of digital and print copies equivalent to the number that the library owns in print
• Limits on loan periods will be applied to digital copies that are consistent with print loan periods
• VPL will ensure that digital rights management is applied to in-copyright digital works made available for lending, unless the rights holder has stated that they opt out of DRM
• VPL will follow, or seek to collaborate to establish, Indigenous protocols for the digitization of works authored by or depicting Indigenous Peoples

3. Goals

• To share knowledge and resources about Vancouver, BC and Canada in ways that are accessible to a broad range of audiences
• To make available in digital format Canadian works that are not otherwise widely available to the public
• To support Indigenous Peoples rights to revitalize, use, develop and transmit their histories, philosophies, and literatures
• To enable work with Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations on the digitization of materials that are authored by or depict people of their Nations  
• To support the creation of new works that build on the work of prior authors for research, and inspiration

4. General Guidelines

• VPL’s focus for digitization will be on Canadian works of local relevance that are not otherwise broadly available to the public.
• VPL will only consider for digitization material that is not available for libraries to purchase or license in digital format.
• Where material is not available for digital purchase or licence, VPL will attempt to contact the publisher to seek digital copies or permission to digitize, prior to undertaking digitization.
• VPL will generally not consider for digitization material that is currently widely available to libraries in print and digital format.
• VPL will consider digitizing material for public access in any of the following circumstances:

      o   The material is in the public domain
      o   The material is available under a Creative Commons or similar licence
      o   The rights holder has granted VPL permission to digitize
      o   VPL itself owns the copyright of the work
      o   Digitizing the work is assessed to be low risk for copyright infringement

• VPL will provide a mechanism for rights holders to contact the library to request the removal of their digitized books from the collection.

Staff who knowingly digitize works that are not aligned with this policy without authorization of the Director, IT & Collections, or otherwise fail to comply with this policy, may face disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

• Collection Development Policy