Exception 1: Digitizing to Fulfill Library Job Duties
§ 108. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this title and notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement of copyright for a library or archives, or any of its employees acting within the scope of their employment, to reproduce no more than one copy or phonorecord of a work, except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), or to distribute such copy or phonorecord, under the conditions specified by this section, if —
(1) the reproduction or distribution is made without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage;
(2) the collections of the library or archives are (i) open to the public, or (ii) available not only to researchers affiliated with the library or archives or with the institution of which it is a part, but also to other persons doing research in a specialized field; and
(3) the reproduction or distribution of the work includes a notice of copyright that appears on the copy or phonorecord that is reproduced under the provisions of this section, or includes a legend stating that the work may be protected by copyright if no such notice can be found on the copy or phonorecord that is reproduced under the provisions of this section. (US Copyright Office, n. d.)
Librarians may scan a copy of a work in the course of carrying out their job duties under certain conditions. First, the library should not make any money from the digitized work. Second, the collection should be open to all patrons, not just to particular researchers or faculty members. Nevertheless, a notice of copyright protection must be included. Librarians cannot be sued for statutory damages; so even if they unwittingly infringed, they will not have to pay royalties, court fees, and such (Russell, 2004).