The Internet Archive, a digital library that offers free checkouts, is defending the expansion of access to its 1.4 million-book collection, claiming fair use while public libraries are paralyzed by the coronavirus shutdown.
In late March, the nonprofit organization started its “National Emergency Library” initiative, suspending waitlists for in-copyright materials until June 30 or the end of the national emergency, whichever is later.
“The National Emergency Library was developed to address a temporary and significant need in our communities—for the first time in our nation’s history, the entire physical library system is offline and unavailable,” the nonprofit organization wrote in ...