Bill Text: IL HB5236 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. Provides that no publisher shall enter into a contract or license agreement to distribute electronic literary materials to a library that requires, coerces, or enables (rather than requires) the library to violate the Library Records Confidentiality Act. Provides that the Act applies to any contract or license agreement to distribute electronic literary materials to: (1) a library located in the State; or (2) a library consortium acting on behalf of one or more libraries located in the State. Sets forth provisions concerning governing law and forum. Provides that a library, library consortium, or library officer acting within the scope of official duties on behalf of a library or library consortium may bring an action for declaratory or injunctive relief to enforce the Act. Adds a severability clause. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 41-5)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2026-07-13 - Alternate Chief Sponsor Changed to Sen. Mary Edly-Allen [HB5236 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB5236-Engrossed.html

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HB5236 Engrossed LRB104 18368 SPS 31808 b
AN ACT concerning business.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Digital Library Protection Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Aggregator" means any person in the business of licensing
access to electronic literary material collections that
include electronic literary material from multiple publishers.
"Borrower" means any person or organization, including
another library, to whom a library loans a copy of electronic
literary material.
"Digital audiobook" means a sound recording of a reading
of any literary production that has been converted into or
published in a digital audio file that may be listened to on a
computer or portable electronic device.
"Electronic literary material" means any digital audiobook
or electronic book.
"Electronic book" means a text document that has been
converted into or published in a digital format that may be
read on a computer or portable electronic device.
"Library" means a public library, public elementary school
or secondary school library, academic library, research

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library, special library, library consortium, talking book
library, or an archive.
"Loan" means the creation and transmission by a library to
a borrower of a copy of any electronic literary material and
the deletion of the copy by the library upon the expiration of
the loan period.
"Loan period" means the period of time commencing with the
creation and transmission by a library to a borrower of a copy
of any electronic literary material and concluding with the
deletion of the copy by the library, as determined by the
library.
"Publisher" means (i) any person in the business of the
manufacture, distribution, licensing, or sale of books,
audiobooks, journals, magazines, newspapers, or other literary
productions, including electronic literary materials, and (ii)
any aggregator who enters into a contract with any library for
the purpose of providing materials for purchase or license
from any publisher.
"Technological protection measure" means any technology
that enhances the security of loaning or circulating
electronic literary materials by a library.
Section 10. Contracts between libraries and publishers. No
library shall enter into a contract or license agreement to
distribute electronic literary materials to the library if the
contract or agreement:

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(1) restricts the library from performing customary
operational functions, including any provision that:
(A) restricts the library from licensing
electronic literary materials from publishers;
(B) restricts the library from employing
technological protection measures as necessary to loan
electronic literary materials;
(C) restricts the library from making preservation
copies of electronic literary materials; or
(D) restricts the library from loaning electronic
literary materials through interlibrary loan systems;
(2) restricts the library from performing customary
lending functions, including any provision that:
(A) restricts the library from loaning electronic
literary materials to borrowers;
(B) restricts the library from determining 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 the fee is substantially lower in
aggregate than the cost of purchasing the item
outright;
(F) restricts the number of times the library may
loan any electronic literary material over the course
of the contract or license agreement if the contract
or agreement also imposes a time-based limitation on
the duration of the library's license to the
materials; or
(G) restricts or limits the library's ability to
virtually recite text or display artwork to library
patrons so that the materials would not have the same
educational utility as when recited or displayed at a
library facility;
(3) restricts the library from disclosing the terms of
the contract or license agreement to any other library in
this State; or
(4) requires, coerces, or enables the library to
violate the Library Records Confidentiality Act.
Section 15. Applicability; governing law; forum.
(a) This Act applies to any contract or license agreement
to distribute electronic literary materials to:
(1) a library located in this State; or
(2) a library consortium acting on behalf of one or
more libraries located in this State.

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(b) A contract or license agreement subject to this Act,
and any dispute arising out of or relating to the contract or
license agreement, is governed by and shall be construed in
accordance with the laws of this State, without regard to
conflict of laws principles.
(c) A provision in a contract or license agreement subject
to this Act that requires the application of the law of another
jurisdiction or requires a library to bring or defend an
action in a forum outside this State is contrary to the public
policy of this State and is unenforceable and void.
(d) This Section does not apply to any existing contract
described in Section 25.
Section 20. Unenforceable contracts. Any contract to
license electronic literary materials to a library is deemed
unenforceable and void if the contract includes a provision
prohibited under this Act. Any provision of a contract that
waives any of the provisions of this Act is deemed
unenforceable and void.
Section 25. Existing contracts. Nothing in this Act shall
be construed to apply to any contract to distribute electronic
literary materials to a library entered into prior to the
effective date of this Act.
Section 30. Relation to other laws. Nothing in this Act

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shall be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary of
State under the License to Read Act.
Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes. If
any provision of this Act or its application to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity does not affect
any other provision or application of this Act that can be
given effect without the invalid provision or application.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.