We have been receiving many requests from Teacher-Librarians about issues relating to e-books and e-lending and the implications this has for School Libraries.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has drafted a background paper on digital lending.

The paper attempts to:

• Provide an overview of the issues relating to eBooks in libraries;
• Summarise the current positions of publishers in both the scholarly publishing and trade publishing sectors;
• Summarise the differences in the way that academic/research libraries and public libraries address the issue of digital collections;
• Address the legal context for eLending and library principles that must be upheld in any suitable models;
• Provide a detailed legal analysis of e-Lending