This year the Internet Archive continued to reach our patrons, supporters, and library partners through virtual events and programming. As we close out 2021, let’s look back at some of the highlights of the year:

Events

• We brought together copyright experts, authors, publishers, and librarians for  Mythbusting Controlled Digital Lending, to debunk the most common myths about the library practice.
• Following on the success of the Mythbusting session, in June we assembled a panel of experts to discuss the most Frequently Asked Questions about Controlled Digital Lending (or FAQ:CDL for short)
• This fall, we hosted our annual Library Leaders Forum, featuring two virtual sessions and 3 conference workshops. All of the session videos are online and available for viewing.

The video that captivated the internet

• In February, we shared a video on social media showing how we digitize a book, and it quickly went viral. So many readers were interested in the process and the people behind the work that we wrote a blog post about Eliza Zhang, the staff member featured in the video.

Milestones

• The Internet Archive’s modern book collection now has more than 2 million volumes available to borrow through Controlled Digital Lending.
• Following more than ten years of collaboration and cooperation, the Internet Archive joined the Boston Library Consortium.
• Internet Archive began an interlibrary loan pilot in April, and talked about the success of the program during a resource sharing webinar this fall.
• In October the Internet Archive celebrated its 25 anniversary in a live, hybrid event beamed to the world from the Internet Archive headquarters in San Francisco.

Policy

• Library Futures launched in January. The new non-profit is working to support a technology-positive future for libraries.
• The AAP and four corporate publishers continued their lawsuit against the Internet Archive.
• In September, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) & Representative Anna Eshoo (D-California) sent an inquiry to the “Big Five” publishers to investigate their activities in the e-book marketplace. They followed in November with letters to nine e-book aggregators and platforms, inquiring about restrictive e-book licenses.
• The AAP sued the state of Maryland over its e-book lending law, which was set to take effect on January 1, 2022.
• The International Federation of Library Associations & Institutions (IFLA) backed Controlled Digital Lending in a strong public letter of support.

Donations

• The Internet Archive has continued its donations program, receiving media that libraries can no longer house for preservation and digitization. Learn more about the donations program through an informational webinar.
• The Internet Archive is now the preservation home of the Michelson Cinema Research Library, the collection curated by famed cinema librarian and researcher Lillian Michelson.
• Libraries struggle to find a home for collections that no longer fit their collection development priorities. That was the case with Hamilton Public Library in Ontario, which donated a fantastic collection of American and British theater books for preservation and digitization.
• As education continues to use and explore hybrid learning models, colleges and universities are reviewing their physical collections and considering how best to serve their students. Some schools, like Bay State College, are making a full move to digital.

Book talks

• Brewster Kahle sat down with authors Deanna Marcum and Roger C. Schonfeld for a discussion of the history of library digitization described in their book, Along Came Google.
• Catherine Stihler, CEO of Creative Commons, talked with author Peter B. Kaufman about his book, The New Enlightenment.
• Historian and author Abby Smith Rumsey discussed the history of intentional knowledge destruction with librarian Richard Ovenden, as featured in his book, Burning the Books.
• Internet Archive’s Wendy Hanamura talked with author Joanne McNeil (Lurking) and technologist/artist Darius Kazemi about the rise of Google in the 1990s and the impact on libraries and society in Why Trust a Corporation to do a Library’s Job?