Internet Archive opens National Emergency Library with unlimited lending of 1.4m books for stuck-at-home netizens amid virus pandemic • The Register

"The Internet Archive on Tuesday announced the creation of the National Emergency Library to make it easier to borrow from its collection of ebooks during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

In theory, digital books are infinitely reproducible, however, American copyright law prevents unrestricted duplication. To comply with the law, libraries that lend ebooks allow people to check out as many copies as the libraries have licenses for, and then place would-be readers on a wait-list that provides access when checked-out titles get checked-in.

The National Emergency Library does away with its wait-list, to accommodate students, researchers, and others who cannot obtain assigned texts or necessary library materials while stuck at home. So the supply of digital texts in this collection will be unlimited, temporarily...."