Libraries have long preserved works in their collections to ensure that they remain available for later generation of researchers and scholars. Conservation of the physical artifact of a copyrighted work presents no significant legal impediments, but any preservation that requires making a copy of a copyrighted work may infringe the rights of the copyright holder. Increasingly, libraries are turning to digital preservation both for analog works and naturally to works originally published in digital format. The Copyright Act of 1976 contains three subsections that deal with library preservation, but each has significant requirements libraries must meet and restrictions that may limit the library's making the preserved work available to the public. The law does not serve the public's interest in preservation of the cultural record which should be at least as important as protecting the economic rights of the copyright holder.