Lending ofelectronic books by public libraries under European union law

Public libraries are among the key public institutions that ensure free access to information, knowledge, and cultural content, thefundamental values that every society rests on. Throughout history, public libraries have evolved in line with the changing social circumstances, 'with the aim offulfilling their core mission. The latest in a series o f major transformations affecting public libraries is the process of digitization. In the information age, thefoundations o f human functioning have been profoundly altered by the pervasive influence o f technology in everyday life. Public libraries have not remained immune to these developments. One ofthe principal functions ofpublic libraries infulfilling their mission is lending books to their members, 'which is a traditional prerogative of public libraries. The impact of digitization on this function has been significant, primarily due to the emergence of electronic books. In the European Union, the lending of e-books has not yet been uniformly regulated at the supranational level. Libraries in several EU Member States had already begun lending e-books to their users even before it 'was clarified 'whether such lending 'was permissible. A key milestone was the judgment o f the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the case Vereniging Openbare Bibliotheken (VOB), 'where the Court held that the lending of e-books by public libraries is permissible, provided that such lending constitutes a technological equivalent to the lending of printed books. An additional restriction on e-book lending 'was introduced through the CJEUjudgment in Tom Kabinet. To date, several best practices have emerged regarding the lending o f ebooks, 'which may serve as a 'valuable guideforfuture legislative regulation, especially considering that this issue has not yet been comprehensively addressed by any legislative act at the EU level.