Main libraries entitled to a digital copy of every book

At present UK publishers have to give six free copies of any book they publish for distribution to the main UK libraries, if they are asked for it. Professor Nicholas Negroponte of the media lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology argues in Wired magazine that publishers should have to send such libraries a digital, rather than physical, copy of their book. This would make it easier to provide computer access to books in future.

Tim Jackson suggests that libraries could offer digital online access to books for browsing free of charge by readers dialling in from their homes; but that readers should have to pay the copyright holder if making a print-out or if downloading the entire text.