The RCLS Digital Download Center offers temporary access to books, audiobooks, music, and (in the future) video copyrighted works in electronic format. The rights to access these materials are licensed by their publishers and distributors and are protected by federal law. To safeguard their interest in these works, publishers and distributors control electronic access using a class of technology measures known as Digital Rights Management, or DRM.
However, there are thousands of public domain (or less restrictive copyrighted) books, audiobooks, music, etc. files available for free on the Internet that are not protected by proprietary DRM measures. (Yet even some of these are stored in formats that may require specific software players.)

Ebooks

Audiobooks

 Music Files

 Video files

  • Learn Out Loud Free Audio and Video
  • Open Video Project
  • Internet Archive: Moving Image Archive
  • Entertainment Magazine: Free Movies
  • Public Domain Torrents

    DRM measures have been developed by companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Sony, Apple, etc. Some of these companies--like Apple--have hesitated to allow their DRM measures to be used by services that offer downloads by library patrons. The different DRM measures are not standardized, because the companies fear that open sharing of their encryption formulas would be exploited by computer hackers, and that as a result the works will be "pirated."
    RCLS wants to make sure that our member library patrons are aware of sources of files without DRM--particularly if their personal electronic devices (PCs, MP3 players, PDAs) can not be used with the files found on our Digital Download Center because of DRM compatibility issues.


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