Randall Stephens says that creating a Digital Public Library of America would be no easy task — there were critics in Franklin’s day and there are critics of the DPLA now — but it’s encouraging that conversations/debates and planning have begun in earnest. “Certainly there are major obstacles to overcome. The legal matters of copyright and what to do about so-called orphan books would be daunting. Cost, as well, would pose a problem. Yet, says Darnton: ‘If [other] countries can create national digital libraries, why can’t the United States?'”