Bill > SF3685

This bill, titled "Certain libraries' electronic book and digital audiobook license agreements or contracts terms prohibition provision," aims to regulate the terms of contracts and license agreements that public libraries in Minnesota enter into with publishers for electronic books and digital audiobooks. The bill defines various terms such as "aggregator" (a company that licenses access to collections of digital content from multiple publishers), "borrower," "digital audiobook," "electronic book," "electronic literary material" (which encompasses both digital audiobooks and e-books), and "library" (including public libraries, school libraries, and the Minitex library network). The provisions of this bill will become effective 60 days after the Secretary of State certifies that similar laws have been enacted in other states with a combined population of at least 7 million, ensuring that the bill only applies when a significant number of other states have adopted comparable regulations. Once effective, the bill prohibits libraries from entering into or renewing contracts that restrict their ability to perform customary lending functions, such as prohibiting interlibrary loans of electronic materials, limiting the number of times an item can be loaned if the loan period is also restricted, or limiting the purchase of licenses for materials when they become available to the public. It also prevents contracts from prohibiting libraries from making preservation copies, disclosing contract terms to other libraries, or restricting the duration of the agreement unless a commercially reasonable alternative like pay-per-use or perpetual public use is offered. Furthermore, the bill ensures that contracts do not require libraries to violate privacy laws (specifically section 13.40), are severable if any provision is found to be illegal, and that any prohibited provisions can only be enforced through legal proceedings.

Education

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/94/2026/0/SF/3685/