AbstractLibraries and library consortia are adopting controlled digital lending (CDL) as a strategy, accelerated by the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic, to facilitate equitable access to print collections. While advocates of CDL contend that digitize‐and‐lend practices reflect an incremental, technology‐assisted adjustment to traditional library circulation, lending, and resource‐sharing practices, opponents of CDL in the United States and Canada argue that the practice contravenes well‐established copyright protections. This paper discusses current controversies surrounding CDL, its potential promise and perils, and concludes that a reasonable, equitable, and forward‐looking application of copyright laws ought to insulate libraries and library consortia from exposure to liability for engaging in CDL.