Open Library - Wikipedia

Open Library - Wikipedia
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Online project for book data of the Internet Archive
Open Library
Screenshot
Open Library homepage in September 2011
Type of site
Digital library index
Available in
Czech
German
French
Croatian
Italian
Portuguese
Telugu
Chinese
Ukrainian
Founder(s)
Aaron Swartz
Brewster Kahle
, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Hargrave Malamud
Revenue
Donation
URL
openlibrary
.org
Commercial
No
Registration
Free
Launched
2006
; 20 years ago
2006
Current status
Active
Content license
Data: public domain
Source code:
AGPLv3
Open Library
is an online project intended to create "one
web page
for every book ever published". Created by
Aaron Swartz
Brewster Kahle
Alexis Rossi,
Anand Chitipothu,
and Rebecca Hargrave Malamud,
Open Library is a project of the
Internet Archive
, a
nonprofit organization
. It has been funded in part by grants from the
California State Library
and the Kahle/Austin Foundation. Open Library provides
online
digital copies in multiple formats, created from images of many
public domain
, out-of-print, and in-print books.
Book database and digital lending library
edit
Its book information is collected from the
Library of Congress
, other libraries, and
Amazon.com
, as well as from user contributions through a
wiki
-like interface.
If books are available in digital form, a button labeled "Read" appears next to its catalog listing. Digital copies of the contents of each scanned book are distributed as encrypted e-books (created from images of scanned pages), audiobooks and streaming audio (created from the page images using OCR and text-to-speech software), unencrypted images of full pages from OpenLibrary.org and Archive.org, and APIs for automated downloading of page images.
Links to where books can be purchased or borrowed are also provided.
There are different entities in the database:
authors
works (which are the aggregate of all books with the same title and text)
editions (which are different publications of the corresponding works)
Open Library claims to have over 20 million records in its database.
Copies of the contents of tens of thousands of modern books have been made available from 150 libraries and publishers for
ebook
controlled digital lending
Other books including in-print and in-copyright books have been scanned from copies in library collections, library discards, and donations, and are also available for lending in digital form.
10
In total, the Open Library offers copies of over 1.4 million books for what it calls "digital lending", but critics have called distribution of digital copies a violation of copyright law.
11
History
edit
Open Library began in 2006 with
Aaron Swartz
as the original engineer and leader of the Open Library's technical team.
The project was led by
George Oates
from April 2009 to December 2011.
12
Oates was responsible for a complete site redesign in 2010.
13
In 2015, the project was continued by Giovanni Damiola
and then Brenton Cheng
and since 2016 has been directed by Mek Karpeles
Its codebase is on
GitHub
14
The site uses Infobase, its own database framework based on
PostgreSQL
, and Infogami, its own
Wiki engine
written in
Python
15
In late 2025, some of the original web.py server components were re-written in FastAPI. The source code to the site is published under the
GNU Affero General Public License
16
Book sponsorship program
edit
In the week of October 21, 2019, the Open Library website introduced a Book Sponsorship program,
17
which according to
Cory Doctorow
, "lets you direct a cash donation to pay for the purchase and scanning of any books. In return, you are first in line to check that book out when it is available, and then anyone who holds an Open Library library card can check it out.".
18
The feature was developed by Mek Karpeles, with assistance by Tabish Shaikh,
and other members of the community.
19
Books for the blind and dyslexic
edit
The website was relaunched adding
ADA compliance
and offering over one million modern and older books to the
print disabled
in May 2010
20
using the
DAISY Digital Talking Book
21
Under certain provisions of United States copyright law, libraries are sometimes able to reproduce copyrighted works in formats accessible to users with disabilities.
22
23
Copyright violation accusations
edit
The Open Library has justified its ability to offer full contents of books in digital formats as part of the
first-sale doctrine
and
fair use
law.
24
25
The Open Library owns a physical copy of each book that they have made available, and thus argue that the lending out of one digital scan of the book in a controlled manner falls within the first-sale doctrine, a practice known as
controlled digital lending
and in use by multiple public and academic libraries.
25
Since its launch, the Open Library has been accused of mass copyright violation by numerous groups,
25
including the American
Authors Guild
26
the British
Society of Authors
27
the
Australian Society of Authors
28
the
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
29
the US
National Writers Union
30
and a coalition of 37 national and international organizations of "writers, translators, photographers, and graphic artists; unions, organizations, and federations representing the creators of works included in published books; book publishers; and reproduction rights and public lending rights organizations".
31
The UK
Society of Authors
threatened legal action in 2019 unless the Open Library agreed to cease distribution of copyrighted works.
32
Hachette v. Internet Archive
edit
Main article:
Hachette v. Internet Archive
The Open Library further came under criticism from several authors and publishers groups when it created the
National Emergency Library
in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic
in March 2020. Under these circumstances, the National Emergency Library removed the waitlists of all books in its Open Library collection and allowed any number of digital copies of a book to be downloaded as an encrypted file that would be unusable after two weeks, asserting that this unlimited borrowing was a reasonable exception under the national emergency to allow educational functions to continue since physical libraries and bookstores were forced to be shuttered.
25
The Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers, the National Writers Union, and others argued that this allowed unlimited copyright infringement and denied revenues from distribution of authorized digital copies of books to authors who also needed relief during the COVID-19 national emergency.
25
Though the Open Library asserted that the copies of entire books in e-book format were still encrypted and the unlimited borrowing was for educational purposes, the National Writers Union asserted that images of each page of each book could still be accessed on the Web without encryption or other controls.
33
Four major publishers—
Hachette
Penguin Random House
John Wiley & Sons
, and
HarperCollins
, all members of the
Association of American Publishers
—filed a lawsuit in the
Southern New York Federal District Court
against the Internet Archive in June 2020, asserting the Open Library project violated numerous copyrights.
34
In their suit, the publishers claimed "Without any license or any payment to authors or publishers, [the Internet Archive] scans print books, uploads these illegally scanned books to its servers, and distributes verbatim digital copies of the books in whole via public-facing websites. With just a few clicks, any Internet-connected user can download complete digital copies of in-copyright books from [the] defendant."
35
The publishers were represented by the law firms
Davis Wright Tremaine
and
Oppenheim + Zebrak
36
The Internet Archive ended the National Emergency Library on June 16, 2020, instead of the intended June 30 date, and requested the publishers to "call off their costly assault".
37
In July 2022, both parties filed requests for
summary judgement
. A first hearing was held on March 20, 2023.
38
A summary judgement was issued March 24, 2023, in favor of the plaintiffs. In its ruling the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
determined that the
Internet Archive
committed
copyright infringement
by scanning and distributing copies of books online. Stemming from the creation of the
National Emergency Library
(NEL) during the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic
, publishing company
Hachette Book Group
alleged that the Open Library and the National Emergency Library facilitated copyright infringement.
On March 25, 2023, the court ruled against Internet Archive, who appealed the decision.
39
This appeal was later denied by the
Second Circuit Court of Appeals
in 2024.
40
A settlement was reached in 2025 for an undisclosed amount that also resulted in the removal of 500,000 books among other content from Open Library.
41
See also
edit
Internet portal
Free-software license
Google Books
LibraryThing
List of software under the GNU AGPL
List of digital library projects
Online public access catalog
Project Gutenberg
WorldCat
References
edit
Bookfinch; Chitipothu, Anand; Oates, George; West, Jessamyn (2013-10-10).
"Using Open Library Data § Who owns the Open Library catalog?"
Archived
from the original on 2022-04-11
. Retrieved
2021-04-06
"openlibrary/LICENSE at master · internetarchive/openlibrary · GitHub"
. GitHub.com.
Archived
from the original on 2017-01-22
. Retrieved
2015-06-26
"A library bigger than any building"
BBC News
. 2007-07-31.
Archived
from the original on 2009-11-27
. Retrieved
2010-07-06
Grossman, Wendy M (2009-01-22).
"Why you can't find a library book in your search engine"
The Guardian
. London.
Archived
from the original on 2014-01-14
. Retrieved
2010-07-06
"Aaron Swartz: howtoget"
. Aaronsw.jottit.com.
Archived
from the original on 2015-05-23
. Retrieved
2015-06-05
"The Open Library Team"
. Open Library.
Archived
from the original on 2018-07-17
. Retrieved
2018-07-16
Hasbrouck, Edward (16 April 2020).
"What is the Internet Archive doing with our books?"
. National Writers Union
. Retrieved
2020-05-07
"About Us"
. Openlibrary.org.
Archived
from the original on 2015-06-27
. Retrieved
2015-06-26
"Internet Archive Forums: In-Library eBook Lending Program Launched"
. 2011-02-22.
Archived
from the original on 2015-07-17
. Retrieved
2015-06-26
"FAQ on Controlled Digital Lending (CDL)"
. 13 February 2019.
Archived
from the original on 2020-03-30
. Retrieved
2019-02-14
Lee, Timothy B. (2020-03-28).
"Internet Archive offers 1.4 million copyrighted books for free online"
Ars Technica
Archived
from the original on 2020-03-28
. Retrieved
2020-04-20
"George"
. Openlibrary.org.
Archived
from the original on 2017-02-22
. Retrieved
2015-06-26
Oates, George (2010-03-17).
"Announcing the Open Library redesign « The Open Library Blog"
. Blog.openlibrary.org.
Archived
from the original on 2015-06-27
. Retrieved
2015-06-26
"internetarchive/openlibrary · GitHub"
. GitHub.com.
Archived
from the original on 2015-08-10
. Retrieved
2015-06-26
"About the Technology"
. Openlibrary.org.
Archived
from the original on 2015-06-27
. Retrieved
2015-06-26
"Developers / Licensing"
. Openlibrary.org.
Archived
from the original on 2015-06-27
. Retrieved
2015-06-26
"The Internet Archive Book Drive | Open Library"
openlibrary.org
Archived
from the original on 2022-06-05
. Retrieved
2022-06-05
Doctorow, Cory (2019-10-22).
"The Internet Archive's Open Library will let you sponsor a book, paying for it to be scanned"
BoingBoing
Archived
from the original on 2019-10-23
. Retrieved
2019-10-24
El-Sabrout, Omar Rafik (23 October 2019).
"Scan On Demand: Building the World's Open Library, Together"
The Open Library Blog
Archived
from the original on 2019-10-24
. Retrieved
2019-10-24
"Project puts 1M books online for blind, dyslexic | UTSanDiego.com"
. Signonsandiego.com. 2010-05-05.
Archived
from the original on 2011-12-17
. Retrieved
2015-06-26
"Welcome to Daisy Books for the Print Disabled"
Internet Archive
Archived
from the original on 2013-01-04
. Retrieved
2012-12-10
"NLS Factsheets: Copyright Law Amendment, 1996: PL 104-197"
Library of Congress NLS Factsheets
. Library of Congress.
Archived
from the original on 2017-05-21.
Scheid, Maria.
"Copyright and Accessibility"
Copyright Corner
. The Ohio State University Libraries.
Archived
from the original on 2016-06-30.
Hansen, David R.; Courtney, Kyle K. (2018).
A White Paper on Controlled Digital Lending of Library Books
(Report). Controlled Digital Lendings by Libraries.
Archived
from the original on 2019-08-02
. Retrieved
2020-04-02
Grady, Constance (2020-04-02).
"Why authors are so angry about the Internet Archive's Emergency Library"
Vox
Archived
from the original on 2020-04-04
. Retrieved
2020-04-02
The Authors Guild
"Open Letter to Internet Archive and Other Proponents of 'Controlled Digital Lending'
JotForm
. Archived from the original on 2019-07-28
. Retrieved
2019-04-04
The Society of Authors
"Open letter to Internet Archive about 'Controlled Digital Lending'
JotForm
Archived
from the original on 2019-07-28
. Retrieved
2019-04-04
"Open Library: copyright infringement"
. Australian Society of Authors. 2019-01-21.
Archived
from the original on 2019-08-20
. Retrieved
2019-02-10
"Infringement Alert"
. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. 2018-01-08.
Archived
from the original on 2019-02-12
. Retrieved
2019-02-10
Hasbrouck, Edward (2019-02-13).
"NWU denounces 'Controlled Digital Lending'
. National Writers Union.
"Controlled Digital Lending (CDL): An appeal to readers and librarians from the victims of CDL"
. National Writers Union. 13 February 2019.
Archived
from the original on 2020-07-28
. Retrieved
2019-02-14
Flood, Alison (2019-01-22).
"Internet Archive's ebook loans face UK copyright challenge"
The Guardian
. London.
Archived
from the original on 2019-02-12
. Retrieved
2019-02-10
Hasbrouck, Edward (24 March 2020).
"Internet Archive removes controls on "lending" of bootleg e-books"
. National Writers Union
. Retrieved
2020-05-07
Bustillos, Maria (2020-09-10).
"Publishers Are Taking the Internet to Court"
The Nation
Archived
from the original on 2021-08-23
. Retrieved
2020-10-19
Brandom, Russell (2020-06-01).
"Publishers sue Internet Archive over Open Library ebook lending"
The Verge
Archived
from the original on 2020-06-01
. Retrieved
2020-06-01
"Publishers File Suit Against Internet Archive for Systematic Mass Scanning and Distribution of Literary Works"
AAP
. 2020-06-01.
Archived
from the original on 2020-06-05
. Retrieved
2020-06-05
Lee, Timothy (2020-06-11).
"Internet Archive ends "emergency library" early to appease publishers"
Ars Technica
Archived
from the original on 2020-06-14
. Retrieved
2020-06-14
Albanese, Andrew (February 21, 2023).
"Oral Argument Set in Internet Archive Copyright Case"
Publishers Weekly
Archived
from the original on March 18, 2023
. Retrieved
March 18,
2023
Jay Peters, Sean Hollister (24 March 2023).
"The Internet Archive has lost its first fight to scan and lend e-books like a library"
. The Verge
. Retrieved
5 August
2023
"Archived copy"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2024-09-04.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
Belanger, Ashley (2025-11-03).
"Internet Archive's legal fights are over, but its founder mourns what was lost"
Ars Technica
. Retrieved
2026-04-16
External links
edit
Wikidata
has the properties:
Open Library ID (P648)
(see
uses
Open Library subject ID (P3847)
(see
uses
Official website
The Open Library
public domain audiobook at
LibriVox
(Text of the speech given by Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, at the launch of the Open Library in October 2005)
Internet Archive
Projects
Wayback Machine
PetaBox
Open Library
NASA Images
Open Content Alliance
Archive-It
SFlan
Internet Archive Scholar
Partners and
Collaborators
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Library of Congress
Canadian Libraries
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Sloan Foundation
Collections
Image
NASA Images
Libre Map Project
Texts
Canadian Libraries
Children's Library
RECAP US Federal Court Documents
Microfilm
Collected texts of Simon Schwartzman
Audio
Live Music Archive
LibriVox
Video
NASA Images
FedFlix
Democracy Now!
Marion Stokes
Software
Open Educational Resources
People
Brewster Kahle
Rick Prelinger
David Rumsey
Jason Scott
Software
Heritrix
Related
Internet Archive building
Panorama Ephemera
(2004)
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project
(2019)
Hachette v. Internet Archive
(2023)
Universal Music Group v. Internet Archive
(2024)
Books
Production
Binding
Covers
dust jackets
Design
Editing
Illustration
Illuminated manuscripts
Printing
edition
history
incunabula
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Publishing
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Size
Typesetting
Volume (bibliography)
Collection (publishing)
Book series
Consumption
Awards
Bestsellers
list
Bibliography
Bibliomania
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Bookmarks
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book towns
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Categories
Aggregation-based digital libraries
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Bibliographic databases and indexes
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Hidden categories:
CS1: unfit URL
CS1 maint: archived copy as title
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Short description is different from Wikidata
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Open Library
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