Bill Text: IL HB4258 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the License to Read Act. Defines terms. Provides that no contract or license agreement entered into between a publisher and library shall preclude, limit, or restrict the library from performing customary operational functions or lending functions, restrict the library from disclosing any terms of its license agreements to other libraries, or require, coerce, or enable the library to violate the Library Records Confidentiality Act. Provides that nothing in the amendatory Act affects existing contracts that are in effect on the effective date of the amendatory Act. Sets forth remedies. Contains a severability provision. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-05 - House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4258 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4258-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4258 Introduced , by Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
75 ILCS 12/5
75 ILCS 12/10
75 ILCS 12/15.1 new
75 ILCS 12/15.2 new
75 ILCS 12/15.3 new
Amends the License to Read Act. Defines terms. Provides that no contract or license agreement entered into between a publisher and library shall preclude, limit, or restrict the library from performing customary operational functions or lending functions, restrict the library from disclosing any terms of its license agreements to other libraries, or require, coerce, or enable the library to violate the Library Records Confidentiality Act. Provides that nothing in the amendatory Act affects existing contracts that are in effect on the effective date of the amendatory Act. Sets forth remedies. Contains a severability provision. Effective immediately.
LRB103 34645 AWJ 64487 b
A BILL FOR
HB4258 LRB103 34645 AWJ 64487 b
AN ACT concerning local government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The License to Read Act is amended by changing
Sections 5 and 10 and by adding Sections 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3
as follows:
(75 ILCS 12/5)
Sec. 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds:
(1) It is in the best interests of the State for the
State Librarian to be authorized to facilitate the
acquisition and use of digital content by pooling the
buying power of the Illinois' libraries and library
systems and to provide e-books and e-audiobooks to patrons
to the fullest extent possible.
(2) It is in the best interests of the State for
libraries, as defined in Section 10, to be authorized to
enter into licensing agreements with literary publishers
and to provide e-books and e-audiobooks to patrons to the
fullest extent possible.
(3) (2) This Act should be administered by the State
Librarian to support all libraries within the State.
(4) (3) To achieve the purposes of this Act, the State
Librarian should have the authority to make grants under

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this Act to assist libraries in providing access to
e-books and e-audiobooks.
(Source: P.A. 103-267, eff. 6-30-23.)
(75 ILCS 12/10)
Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Aggregator" means a person or organization whose business
is the licensing of access to electronic literary material
collections that include electronic literary material from
multiple publishers.
"Borrower" means a person or organization, including
another library, to whom the library loans electronic literary
materials of any sort.
"E-audiobook" means an audio recording of a text document
that is read out loud in an electronic format that is listened
to on a computer, tablet, smart phone, or other electronic
device.
"E-book" means a text document that has been converted
into or published in an electronic format that is read on a
computer, tablet, smart phone, or other electronic device.
"Electronic literary materials" means e-audiobooks and
e-books.
"Library" means an entity that:
(1) serves, either directly or through contractual
services provided by another library, the basic
information and library needs of its patrons through a

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bibliographically organized collection of library
materials that has ongoing financial support and is
accessible centrally;
(2) is open at least 15 hours per week; and
(3) is staffed by one or more employees serving as
librarians working a minimum of 15 hours per week.
"Library" includes public libraries, public elementary
school or secondary school libraries, academic libraries,
research libraries, special libraries, talking book libraries,
and archives.
"Loan" means to create and transmit to a borrower a copy of
electronic literary material and delete it at the end of the
loan period.
"Loan period" means the time between the transmission of
the copy of the electronic literary material to a borrower and
the deletion of the copy of the electronic literary material,
as determined by the individual library.
"Publisher" means a person or organization whose business
is the manufacture, promulgation, license, and sale of books,
audiobooks, journals, magazines, newspapers, or other literary
productions, including those in the form of electronic
literary materials. "Publisher" includes aggregators who enter
into contracts with libraries for the purposes of providing
materials for purchase or license from publishers.
"Reasonable terms" means purchasing or licensing
specifications that consider a publisher's business model and

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a library's need to continue its mission to provide access to
materials and the efficient use of funds in providing library
services.
"Technological protection measures" means any technology
that ensures the secure loaning or circulation by a library of
electronic literary materials.
"Virtually" means transmitted to receiving parties via the
Internet in such a way that the transmission appears in front
of the receiving parties on a computer, tablet, smart phone,
or electronic device.
(Source: P.A. 103-267, eff. 6-30-23.)
(75 ILCS 12/15.1 new)
Sec. 15.1. Contracts between libraries and publishers.
(a) Any contract between a publisher and a library to
license electronic literary materials to the public in this
State shall be governed by this Section.
(b) No contract or license agreement entered into between
any publisher and any library shall:
(1) Preclude, limit, or restrict the library from
performing customary operational functions, including any
provision that:
(A) precludes, limits, or restricts the library
from licensing electronic literary materials from
publishers;
(B) precludes, limits, or restricts the library's

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ability to employ technological protection measures
necessary to loan electronic literary materials;
(C) precludes, limits, or restricts the library's
right to make nonpublic preservation copies of the
electronic literary materials; or
(D) precludes, limits, or restricts the library's
right to loan electronic literary materials via
interlibrary loan systems.
(2) Preclude, limit, or restrict the library from
performing customary lending functions, including any
provision that:
(A) precludes, limits, or restricts the library
from loaning electronic literary materials to
borrowers;
(B) restricts the library's right to determine
loan periods for licensed electronic literary
materials;
(C) requires the library to acquire a license for
any electronic literary material at a price greater
than that charged to the public for the same item;
(D) restricts the number of licenses for
electronic literary materials that the library may
acquire after the same item is made available to the
public;
(E) requires the library to pay a
cost-per-circulation fee to loan electronic literary

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materials, unless that fee is lower in aggregate than
the cost of purchasing the item outright;
(F) restricts the total number of times a library
may loan any licensed electronic literary materials
during any license agreement or restricts the duration
of any license agreement, unless the publisher also
offers a license agreement to libraries for perpetual
public use without such restrictions at a price which
is considered reasonable and equitable as agreed to by
both parties; or
(G) restricts or limits the library's ability to
virtually recite text and display artwork of any
materials to library patrons such that the materials
would not have the same educational utility as when
recited or displayed at a library facility.
(3) Restrict the library from disclosing any terms of
its license agreements to other libraries.
(4) Require, coerce, or enable the library to violate
the law protecting the confidentiality of a patron's
library records under the Library Records Confidentiality
Act.
(75 ILCS 12/15.2 new)
Sec. 15.2. Remedies.
(a) Contracts or offers to license electronic literary
materials to a library that include a prohibited provision

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under this Act constitute unfair and deceptive practices
within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
Business Practices Act and shall be deemed void and
unenforceable. Any waiver of the provisions of this Act is
contrary to public policy and shall be deemed unenforceable
and void.
(b) Actions for relie
f pursuant to this Act may be brought
by libraries, library officers, or library borrowers.
(75 ILCS 12/15.3 new)
Sec. 15.3. Existing contracts. Nothing in this amendatory
Act of the 103rd General Assembly affects existing contracts
that are in force on the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 103rd General Assembly providing libraries with
electronic literary materials from vendors and aggregators.
Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.