Social digital transformation has brought both new opportunities and emerging challenges to libraries worldwide. Countries have responded proactively by adopting diverse regulatory measures to regulate development risks, resulting in varied outcomes. Based on a survey of development risk regulation practices in representative countries and international organizations, this article synthesizes international experiences and lessons in regulating library development risks. Key experiences include the timely attention to the development opportunities and disruptive impacts of digitalization, the use of digital projects to drive transformation, advocate for legal regulation to safeguard development, and the extensive mobilization of social forces and international cooperation to jointly address risks. Important lessons have also emerged: in some countries, libraries missed the rapid trajectory of digital transformation; imbalances in digital development became pronounced; Insufficient response with overlapping other risks, and socialized operation introduced market-oriented tendencies. Building on this review of experiences and lessons, the article distills several implications for the regulation of library development risks in China.