Digital rights management: implications for libraries

Since digital content can be perfectly replicated and distributed infinitely, publishers and other content originators are employing DRM and persistent protection to prevent the abuse of their intellectual property. However, locking the content and controlling operations on the content have presented interesting challenges in supporting fair use in the digital world. Not only are libraries purchasing intellectual property, but they are also producing and maintaining it. Libraries are publishers. Presents the core components of DRM and the value the technology presents for libraries, and also scenarios to demonstrate where DRM may have improved content delivery to libraries, where library operations may be improved by the use of DRM, and offers critical information against which to ask publishers and content aggregators about their use of DRM with the content they sell to libraries.