But the first-sale doctrine does not apply to digital content.

Libraries can buy print books in bulk from any seller that they choose, and, thanks to a legal principle called the first-sale doctrine, they have the right to lend those books to any number of readers free of charge. The sudden shift to e-books had enormous practical and financial implications, not only for OverDrive but for public libraries across the country. closed down and issued a statement: “The responsible thing to do-and the best way to serve our patrons right now-is to help minimize the spread of COVID-19.” The library added, “We will continue to offer access to e-books.” He had an inkling that his business might be in for big changes when, toward the end of the week, on March 13th, the N.Y.P.L. By then, Potash had already heard what he described to me recently as “heart-wrenching stories” from colleagues in China, about neighborhoods that were shut down owing to the coronavirus. OverDrive distributes e-books and audiobooks-i.e., “digital content.” In New York, Potash met with two clients: the New York Public Library and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. of OverDrive, spent the second week of March, 2020, on a business trip to New York City. Steve Potash, the bearded and bespectacled president and C.E.O.

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