This page helps direct you to business/economics specific OER resources. For more general information about OER visit the Open Educational Resources guide.
OpenLibrary FAQ
What is this?
The founders of Internet Archive have created a Controlled Digital Lending repository of print books so that patrons may access them remotely.
What is Controlled Digital Lending (CDL)?
Controlled Digital Lending digitizes a copy of a book owned in print. Circulation control is used so that only the print copy or the digital copy is checked out to one person, at one time. The digital copy has security in place so that is cannot be reproduced (printed, downloaded, etc.) and the file destructs fully at the end of the checkout period.
Is this legal?
While Internet Archive is in the midst of ongoing litigation with multiple commercial publishers, the belief is that the digital rights management used allows them to meet the legal concepts outlined in the first sale doctrine and they are not violating copyright. More than 80 public and academic libraries now participate in some form of CDL. The concept has not yet fully been tested in court.