Editing Internet Archive (section)

===2020 National Emergency Library===
In the midst of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] which closed many schools, universities, and libraries, the Archive announced on March 24, 2020, that it was creating the National Emergency Library by removing the lending restrictions it had in place for 1.4&nbsp;million digitized books in its Open Library but otherwise limiting users to the number of books they could check out and enforcing their return; normally, the site would only allow one digital lending for each physical copy of the book they had, by use of an [[encryption|encrypted file]] that would become unusable after the lending period was completed.<ref name="NYT-20230813" /> This Library would remain as such until at least June 30, 2020, or until the US national emergency was over, whichever came later.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/03/internet-archive-offers-thousands-of-copyrighted-books-for-free-online/|title=Internet Archive offers 1.4 million copyrighted books for free online|last=Lee|first=Timothy B.|date=2020-03-28|website=Ars Technica|language=en-us|access-date=2020-04-10|archive-date=March 28, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200328195723/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/03/internet-archive-offers-thousands-of-copyrighted-books-for-free-online/ |url-status=live}}</ref> At launch, the Internet Archive allowed authors and rightholders to submit opt-out requests for their works to be omitted from the National Emergency Library.<ref name="ArchiveResponse">{{Cite web |title=Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library |url=https://blog.archive.org/2020/03/30/internet-archive-responds-why-we-released-the-national-emergency-library/ |last=Freeland |first=Chris |date=2020-03-30 |website=Internet Archive Blogs |language=en-US |access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.com/story/the-national-emergency-library-and-its-discontents/ | title = The National Emergency Library and Its Discontents | first = Noam | last = Cohen | date = April 20, 2020 | access-date = April 20, 2020 | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] | archive-date = April 20, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200420142718/https://www.wired.com/story/the-national-emergency-library-and-its-discontents/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name = an>{{Cite web |title=Internet Archive accused of using Covid-19 as 'an excuse for piracy' |url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/30/internet-archive-accused-of-using-covid-19-as-an-excuse-for-piracy |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=2020-03-30 |website=The Guardian |language= en-GB |access-date=2020-05-26 |archive-date=March 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200331001559/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/30/internet-archive-accused-of-using-covid-19-as-an-excuse-for-piracy |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Internet Archive said the National Emergency Library addressed an "unprecedented global and immediate need for access to reading and research material" due to the closures of physical libraries worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Announcing a National Emergency Library to Provide Digitized Books to Students and the Public |url=http://blog.archive.org/2020/03/24/announcing-a-national-emergency-library-to-provide-digitized-books-to-students-and-the-public/ |last=Freeland |first=Chris |date=2020-03-24 |website=Internet Archive Blogs |language=en-US |access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref> They justified the move in a number of ways. Legally, they said they were promoting access to those inaccessible resources, which they claimed was an exercise in [[fair use]] principles. The Archive continued implementing their [[controlled digital lending]] policy that predated the National Emergency Library, meaning they still encrypted the lent copies and it was no easier for users to create new copies of the books than before. An ultimate determination of whether or not the National Emergency Library constituted fair use could only be made by a court. Morally, they also pointed out that the Internet Archive was a registered library like any other, that they either paid for the books themselves or received them as donations, and that lending through libraries predated copyright restrictions.<ref name="ArchiveResponse"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Digitization 101: The National Emergency Library |url=http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-national-emergency-library.html |last=Hurst-Wahl |first=Jill |date=2020-04-20 |website=Digitization 101 |access-date=2020-05-26 |archive-date=May 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531053252/http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-national-emergency-library.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Archive had already been criticized by authors and publishers for its prior lending approach, and upon announcement of the National Emergency Library, authors, publishers, and groups representing both took further issue with The Archive and its [[Open Library#Copyright violation accusations|Open Library]] project, equating the move to [[copyright infringement]] and digital piracy, and using the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to push the boundaries of copyright.<ref name="an" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hampton |first1=Rachelle |title=The Internet Archive Started an "Emergency" Online Library. Authors Are Furious. |url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/04/internet-archive-national-emergency-library-controversy.html |website=Slate |date=April 2020 |access-date=30 July 2021 |archive-date=April 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403000508/https://slate.com/culture/2020/04/internet-archive-national-emergency-library-controversy.html |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.npr.org/2020/03/30/823797545/authors-publishers-condemn-the-national-emergency-library-as-piracy | title = Authors, Publishers Condemn The 'National Emergency Library' As 'Piracy' | first = Colin | last = Dwyer | date = March 30, 2020 | access-date = March 30, 2020 | work = [[NPR]] | archive-date = March 30, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200330193055/https://www.npr.org/2020/03/30/823797545/authors-publishers-condemn-the-national-emergency-library-as-piracy | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/4/2/21201193/emergency-library-internet-archive-controversy-coronavirus-pandemic | title = Why authors are so angry about the Internet Archive's Emergency Library | first = Constance | last = Grady | date = April 2, 2020 | access-date = April 2, 2020 | work = [[Vox (website)|Vox]] | archive-date = April 4, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200404010247/https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/4/2/21201193/emergency-library-internet-archive-controversy-coronavirus-pandemic | url-status = live }}</ref> After the works of some of these authors were ridiculed in responses, the Internet Archive's [[Jason Scott]] requested that supporters of the National Emergency Library not denigrate anyone's books: "I realize there's strong debate and disagreement here, but books are life-giving and life-changing and these writers made them."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://locusmag.com/2020/05/internet-archive-controversy/|title=Internet Archive Controversy|newspaper=Lotus|access-date=25 May 2020|date=2 May 2020|archive-date=May 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526205517/https://locusmag.com/2020/05/internet-archive-controversy/|url-status=live}}</ref>