The Concept of Controlled Digital Lending: Possibilities of Application in Croatian Libraries

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the recommendations of the international library communities and the modern legislative framework in the Republic of Croatia on issues of copyright and related rights regarding libraries and e-lending. In 2021, a new Copyright and Related Rights Act entered into force in Croatia, and in recent years, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, more attention has been paid in the literature to the concept of the so-called Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) which helps fulfil the mission of libraries in supporting research, education and participation in cultural life within the limits of existing copyright laws. The CDL allows the library to circulate a digitized title instead of a physical copy, provided that the loan must take place in a controlled manner: the loan may contain as many copies of the title as the library has legally acquired. As a concept, CDL is an interesting and suitable solution for the uninterrupted provision of library services in cases of extraordinary circumstances such as a pandemic. Given that has its roots in the American legal system that is significantly different from European legal framework of copyright, IFLA in the Statement of controlled loan e-books (IFLA Statement on controlled digital lending) published in June 2021 recommends considering the application of the CDL in the framework of national legislation, so the paper will present the position of the international library community on lending e-books expressed in the Declaration and consider the possibilities of e-lending and digital copying of printed books and its lending according to the CDL concept in the context of the new Copyright and Related Rights Act and in general within the framework of contemporary Croatian and European legislation.