The government is preparing to announce a review into ebook lending following calls from the opposition to move libraries "into the 21st century".

Although some of the UK's library authorities do offer ebook lending, many do not, and many publishers have been wary of making their digital titles available for lending, meaning the range of ebooks in libraries is often restricted.

With potential solutions ranging from the suggestion from Justin Tomlinson, MP for North Swindon and chair of the all-party parliamentary committee on libraries, that "a small charge for an ebook should be applicable, with the money shared between the publishers and the physical community library", to HarperCollins' controversial move to restrict loans to 26 per ebook, a Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) spokesman has said the culture minister, Ed Vaizey, will soon announce an independent review into ebook lending.

The news follows a question from Labour MP Dan Jarvis last month, which saw the shadow culture minister ask Vaizey why the public lending right (PLR), which remunerates authors each time their physical books are borrowed from libraries, was not being extended to ebooks. "It is now increasingly accepted that part of the long-term future of book lending lies in ebooks being available in all libraries. In order for our libraries to move into the 21st century, the tensions between the public lending rights scheme and ebooks must be addressed," said Jarvis.

"Will the minister therefore tell the House why he has not moved to implement the extension of the public lending right to ebooks, as mandated in section 43 of the Digital Economy Act 2010?"

Vaizey told Jarvis in response that "part of the problem with ebooks is that most publishers do not want ebooks lent in libraries. I have had discussions with publishers on that on at least two occasions, and would happily discuss it jointly with publishers and [Jarvis] so he can hear their views first hand".

That meeting took place earlier this month, and Jarvis has now called for the government "to convene an effective and credible taskforce to explore ebook lending – which should consist of librarians, authors and publishers, and be chaired by an independent expert", saying that "if the government wants libraries to move into the 21st century, and wants to protect the value of books, Ed Vaizey needs to act on this now".

The DCMS said Vaizey had been "actively engaged" in finding a solution to issues around ebook lending for "some time", and had held a number of meetings with library and publishing experts and other interested parties. "He is delighted that his proposals for an independent review of ebook lending are gathering cross-party support and looks forward to working with publishers, library professionals, local authorities and members from both sides of the House in taking these forwards. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly," said a spokesman.

Jarvis, MP for Barnsley Central, has also accused the government of "incompetence" for failing to provide clear guidelines to councils on setting up community libraries, following concerns that branches run by volunteers may not covered by the PLR scheme, and are thus breaking the law by lending books without making payments to authors.

"This out-of-touch government encouraged councils to shuffle libraries off to community groups without thinking through the implications or potential pitfalls of doing so," said Jarvis. "Dozens of volunteer libraries have already been set up, but there has been real confusion over whether they could be found in breach of copyright legislation. DCMS now say volunteer libraries can lend, but it is still unclear whether, and how, they will pay anything to authors. It's a shambles and symptomatic of a lack of interest in the future of the service that threatens to undermine library provision even more than it already has been."

But the DCMS said the position on the PLR and community libraries was clear. "We reject the suggestion there has been widespread confusion," said a spokesman. "PLR applies to any community-managed library that forms part of a library authority's statutory provision. In addition, copyright legislation does allow libraries that sit outside the public library service run by a local authority or council to lend books without being in breach of copyright. This means that a community library does not have to enter into separate agreements with authors to lend books. This is the same position for many educational and not-for-profit libraries that lend books. For the avoidance of doubt we will put some guidance on our website in the coming days."