DIGITAL LIBRARY PROTECTION ACT

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB5279

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5279

Introduced 2/10/2026, by Rep. Nabeela Syed

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
815 ILCS 505/2MMMM new

Amends the Digital Library Protection Act. Provides that no publisher
shall enter into a contract or license agreement to distribute electronic
literary materials to a library that: (1) restricts the library from
performing customary operational functions; (2) restricts the library from
performing customary lending functions; (3) restricts the library from
disclosing the terms of the contract or license agreement to any other
library in the State; or (4) requires the library to violate the Library
Records Confidentiality Act. Provides that a violation of the Act
constitutes an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive
Business Practices Act. Provides that any contract to license electronic
literary materials to a library that includes a provision prohibited under
the Act is deemed unenforceable and void. Amends the Consumer Fraud and
Deceptive Business Practices Act to make a conforming change. Effective
immediately.
LRB104 18367 SPS 31807 b

A BILL FOR

HB5279
LRB104 18367 SPS 31807 b
1

AN ACT concerning business.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 1.
Short title.
This Act may be cited as the
5
Digital Library Protection Act.

6

Section 5.
Definitions.
As used in this Act:
7

"Aggregator" means any person in the business of licensing
8
access to electronic literary material collections that
9
include electronic literary material from multiple publishers.
10

"Borrower" means any person or organization, including
11
another library, to whom a library loans a copy of electronic
12
literary material.
13

"Digital audiobook" means a sound recording of a reading
14
of any literary production that has been converted into or
15
published in a digital audio file that may be listened to on a
16
computer or portable electronic device.
17

"Electronic literary material" means any digital audiobook
18
or electronic book.
19

"Electronic book" means a text document that has been
20
converted into or published in a digital format that may be
21
read on a computer or portable electronic device.
22

"Library" means a public library, public elementary school
23
or secondary school library, academic library, research

HB5279
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LRB104 18367 SPS 31807 b
1
library, special library, library consortium, talking book
2
library, or an archive.
3

"Loan" means the creation and transmission by a library to
4
a borrower of a copy of any electronic literary material and
5
the deletion of the copy by the library upon the expiration of
6
the loan period.
7

"Loan period" means the period of time commencing with the
8
creation and transmission by a library to a borrower of a copy
9
of any electronic literary material and concluding with the
10
deletion of the copy by the library, as determined by the
11
library.
12

"Publisher" means any person in the business of the
13
manufacture, distribution, licensing, or sale of books,
14
audiobooks, journals, magazines, newspapers, or other literary
15
productions, including electronic literary materials.
16
"Publisher" includes any aggregator who enters into a contract
17
with any library for the purpose of providing materials for
18
purchase or license from any publisher.
19

"Technological protection measure" means any technology
20
that enhances the security of loaning or circulating
21
electronic literary materials by a library.

22

Section 10.
Contracts between libraries and publishers.
No
23
publisher shall enter into a contract or license agreement to
24
distribute electronic literary materials to a library that:
25

(1) restricts the library from performing customary

HB5279
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LRB104 18367 SPS 31807 b
1

operational functions, including any provision that:
2

(A) restricts the library from licensing
3

electronic literary materials from publishers;
4

(B) restricts the library from employing
5

technological protection measures as necessary to loan
6

electronic literary materials;
7

(C) restricts the library from making preservation
8

copies of electronic literary materials; or
9

(D) restricts the library from loaning electronic
10

literary materials through interlibrary loan systems;
11

(2) restricts the library from performing customary
12

lending functions, including any provision that:
13

(A) restricts the library from loaning electronic
14

literary materials to borrowers;
15

(B) restricts the library from determining loan
16

periods for licensed electronic literary materials;
17

(C) requires the library to acquire a license for
18

any electronic literary material at a price greater
19

than that charged to the public for the same item;
20

(D) restricts the number of licenses for
21

electronic literary materials that the library may
22

acquire after the same item is made available to the
23

public;
24

(E) requires the library to pay a
25

cost-per-circulation fee to loan electronic literary
26

materials, unless the fee is substantially lower in

HB5279
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LRB104 18367 SPS 31807 b
1

aggregate than the cost of purchasing the item
2

outright;
3

(F) restricts the number of times the library may
4

loan any electronic literary material over the course
5

of the contract or license agreement if the contract
6

or agreement also imposes a time-based limitation on
7

the duration of the library's license to the
8

materials; or
9

(G) restricts or limits the library's ability to
10

virtually recite text or display artwork to library
11

patrons so that the materials would not have the same
12

educational utility as when recited or displayed at a
13

library facility;
14

(3) restricts the library from disclosing the terms of
15

the contract or license agreement to any other library in
16

this State; or
17

(4) requires the library to violate the Library
18

Records Confidentiality Act.

19

Section 15.
Enforcement.
A violation of this Act
20
constitutes an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and
21
Deceptive Business Practices Act. All remedies, penalties, and
22
authority granted to the Attorney General by the Consumer
23
Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act shall be available
24
to the Attorney General for the enforcement of this Act.

HB5279
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LRB104 18367 SPS 31807 b
1

Section 20.
Unenforceable contracts.
Any contract to
2
license electronic literary materials to a library that
3
includes a provision prohibited under this Act is deemed
4
unenforceable and void. Any provision of a contract that
5
waives any of the provisions of this Act is deemed
6
unenforceable and void.

7

Section 25.
Existing contracts.
Nothing in this Act shall
8
be construed to apply to any existing contract to distribute
9
electronic literary materials to a library.

10

Section 30.
Relation to other laws.
Nothing in this Act
11
shall be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary of
12
State under the License to Read Act.

13

Section 35.
The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business
14
Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2MMMM as follows:

15

(815 ILCS 505/2MMMM new)
16

Sec. 2MMMM.
Violations of the Digital Library Protection
17
Act.
Any person who violates the Digital Library Protection
18
Act commits an unlawful practice within the meaning of this
19
Act.

20

Section 99.
Effective date.
This Act takes effect upon
21
becoming law.

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