The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has announced that its draft Interoperable System of Controlled Digital Lending (IS-CDL) Recommended Practice (NISO RP-44-202X) is now available for public comment through April 21 at the project website, https://www.niso.org/standards-committees/is-cdl.
Libraries often need to lend digital surrogates of print content from their collections for various reasons, including when access to physical collections is disrupted, such as in the COVID-19 pandemic or where a natural disaster occurs, or when the physical item is too fragile to circulate. Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) allows libraries to replicate the right to lend their legally acquired items in a digital format to patrons under “controlled” conditions, meaning a library can lend only the number of copies of a specific title that it owns and that controls are implemented to prevent copying or distribution of the work. The process of implementing CDL can be quite complex and must take into account various scenarios and systems requirements.
Supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and formed in 2022, the NISO IS-CDL working group has completed an outline of the technical and functional processes necessary for libraries to interoperably implement CDL in a variety of situations. Its draft Recommended Practice includes four distinct architectural models covering both CDL within a single institution as well as shared CDL infrastructure: 1) Standalone CDL system, 2) Integrated Institution-based System, 3) Shared CDL Infrastructure/Integrated Consortium-based System, and 4) Distributed/Decentralized CDL. These models are described using common attributes, allowing potential adopters to compare and consider practical aspects of how they might be developed or implemented in a local environment. Model-specific recommendations enable readers to better understand system requirements for various types of lending scenarios in an individual library or across a consortium or set of libraries. The document also includes recommendations on cross-model considerations, such as the text conversion practices, use of file formats, accessibility standards, and bibliographic descriptions. Note that legal and copyright questions about CDL are not included in the scope of the working group; libraries are encouraged to consult their legal counsel before implementing a CDL program.
The draft Recommended Practice is available through April 21.
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