Background:
E-Book Lending

E-book interlibrary loan (ILL) enables libraries to share digital books across institutions, expanding equitable access to scholarship and supporting the core mission of resource sharing to lend generously regardless of format.

Unlike physical lending, e-book ILL is shaped by a number of complexities including licensing agreements, restrictions on file delivery and access, and informing user communities about what e-books titles might be available to borrow through interlibrary loan. From DRM-free lending to limited DRM-controlled access, each approach offers distinct possibilities and challenges for implementation. As demand for digital resources grows, developing sustainable, replicable e-book ILL practices amongst libraries and vendors is essential to ensure libraries can effectively meet the evolving informational needs of their users. 

Adapted from the bibliography in BLC’s E-Book ILL Roadmaps, the resources below provide a foundational understanding of the evolving ecosystem for e-books and the different approaches to e-book interlibrary loan:

🌐 📜  E-books in Academic Libraries: Challenges for Sharing and Use, written by William H. Walters - 2014

🌐 📜  Ebook Interlibrary Loan in American Public Libraries, written by Xiaoai Ren - 2018

🌐 📜  Ebook Sharing Models in Academic Libraries, written by Julie A. Murphy - 2019 

📜  BTAA ILL of Ebooks Task Force Report, Big Ten Academic Alliance - 2021

🌐 Ebooks in Academic Libraries: Tomorrow’s Challenges and Tomorrow’s Opportunities, written by Kara Kroes-Li - 2022

📜  eBooks, Interlibrary Loan, and an Uncertain Future (pre-print), written by Siler, Binder, and Beasley - 2024