The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) has released a new issue paper, Large Scale Digitization in the AI Era: Issues and Model Terms for Libraries and Their Partners, addressing the growing number of proposals to digitize library collections at scale for potential use in commercial artificial intelligence and other proprietary services.
Large-scale digitization can offer substantial benefits for libraries, including expanded access, preservation, and reduced digitization costs. At the same time, these partnerships raise important questions about ownership, permitted uses, public access, institutional control, compensation, attribution, privacy, and long-term stewardship.
The paper grew out of discussions among directors of CRL member libraries about the terms institutions should seek when negotiating these arrangements. CRL is making the paper publicly available because decisions made by individual libraries may help establish broader norms for the use of collectively stewarded scholarly and cultural resources.
“Large-scale digitization partnerships can provide real benefits to libraries, but the advent of powerful generative AI systems changes the way we need to assess the value created from our collections and the responsibilities that accompany new uses of those materials,” said Jacob Nadal, President of CRL. “Our goal is to help libraries approach these opportunities constructively while protecting their missions, their collections, and the communities they serve.”
The issue paper is intended as a starting point for further discussion and practical action. CRL will continue working with member libraries to develop baseline partnership terms and explore possible collective approaches, including coordinated negotiations, pooled requests for proposals, and shared digital corpora. Any specific approaches will require further member discussion and legal review.