The Illinois House of Representatives passed the Digital Library Protection Act last week, aiming to prevent local libraries from facing additional restrictions and higher costs when licensing eBooks, digital audiobooks, and other electronic literary materials. State Representative Jeff Keicher, who previously served as Board President of Sycamore Public Library, said he witnessed the impact of such restrictions firsthand.
Keicher said that the legislation is designed to help libraries manage costs and keep property taxes in check by ensuring they can achieve similar usage levels with electronic content as they do with physical books. “Simply put, most physical books are checked out 50 times before they are too worn and need to be replaced by the library,” Keicher said. “To help libraries save money and keep property taxes in check, House Bill 5236 ensures that our local libraries can achieve similar usage levels with electronic content.” He added: “This is a win for our local libraries and taxpayers!”
Keicher has represented Illinois’ 70th House District since being elected in 2018 as a Republican, replacing former state representative Robert W. Pritchard according to Ballotpedia.
The passage of this bill could have implications for how public libraries across Illinois negotiate licenses for digital materials in the future.
Further information about the legislation is available through official channels.
