Digitized Books
- Thread starter VirginiaHuguenot
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Apologist4Him
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VirginiaHuguenot
Puritanboard Librarian
VirginiaHuguenot
Puritanboard Librarian
Google Adds Classics to Book Search
By Elizabeth Millard
September 1, 2006 11:00AM
Although it will likely be decades before printing presses are shut down in favor of online books, Google's attempt to bring at least some titles online could have an effect on generating interest in online books.
As part of the new Google Book Search, users can now download full text versions of public domain titles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet and Dante's Inferno, where previously only sections or select chapters were available.
Google's last attempt to scan published volumes met with criticism, and lawsuits, from librarians and publishers, but this time around the search giant has paired with some notable partners, including Harvard University, the University of California, The New York Public Library, and Oxford University.
Digital Library
To find books available for download, visitors to books.google.com simply select the "Full view" button and insert a search term. For example, a search on "Aesop" displayed a book of fables available for download.
Users can also click on a link that has a short list of older books. All out-of-copyright books are offered at no charge, but Google does include links for those who want to buy printed copies of used volumes at online sites like Abebooks, Alibris, Amazon, and Froogle.
Although Google Book Search does have some selections of copyrighted works as well, the company notes that it will not enable downloading of any book currently under copyright.
Unless the book's publisher has specifically given Google permission to show extensive selections, the search site will display only small snippets of a text, often no more than two or three sentences.
Reading Rainbow
Google's initiative may still cause some publishers and librarians to fret, but it is also a nod toward the direction that reading may be headed, especially for average Internet users, who are increasingly getting much of their information and entertainment online.
In a widely-publicized 2004 survey, the National Endowment of the Arts noted that reading was on the decline in the U.S., but failed to take into account the rise of blogs and Web sites that are perused every day.
Although it will likely be decades before printing presses are shut down in favor of online books -- efforts to speed the process through e-book readers have proven sluggish -- Google's attempt to bring at least some titles online could have an effect on generating interest in online books.
The company is not discussing its motives in detail, but Adam Smith, group business product manager at Google Book Search, noted, "This feature provides users with more options to read and access the wealth of public domain works available in libraries today."
It could also create a better relationship between Google and libraries. In a release, Sidney Verba, director of the Harvard University Library, said, "The collaboration between major research libraries and Google will create an important public good of benefit to students, teachers, scholars, and readers everywhere."
By Elizabeth Millard
September 1, 2006 11:00AM
Although it will likely be decades before printing presses are shut down in favor of online books, Google's attempt to bring at least some titles online could have an effect on generating interest in online books.
As part of the new Google Book Search, users can now download full text versions of public domain titles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet and Dante's Inferno, where previously only sections or select chapters were available.
Google's last attempt to scan published volumes met with criticism, and lawsuits, from librarians and publishers, but this time around the search giant has paired with some notable partners, including Harvard University, the University of California, The New York Public Library, and Oxford University.
Digital Library
To find books available for download, visitors to books.google.com simply select the "Full view" button and insert a search term. For example, a search on "Aesop" displayed a book of fables available for download.
Users can also click on a link that has a short list of older books. All out-of-copyright books are offered at no charge, but Google does include links for those who want to buy printed copies of used volumes at online sites like Abebooks, Alibris, Amazon, and Froogle.
Although Google Book Search does have some selections of copyrighted works as well, the company notes that it will not enable downloading of any book currently under copyright.
Unless the book's publisher has specifically given Google permission to show extensive selections, the search site will display only small snippets of a text, often no more than two or three sentences.
Reading Rainbow
Google's initiative may still cause some publishers and librarians to fret, but it is also a nod toward the direction that reading may be headed, especially for average Internet users, who are increasingly getting much of their information and entertainment online.
In a widely-publicized 2004 survey, the National Endowment of the Arts noted that reading was on the decline in the U.S., but failed to take into account the rise of blogs and Web sites that are perused every day.
Although it will likely be decades before printing presses are shut down in favor of online books -- efforts to speed the process through e-book readers have proven sluggish -- Google's attempt to bring at least some titles online could have an effect on generating interest in online books.
The company is not discussing its motives in detail, but Adam Smith, group business product manager at Google Book Search, noted, "This feature provides users with more options to read and access the wealth of public domain works available in libraries today."
It could also create a better relationship between Google and libraries. In a release, Sidney Verba, director of the Harvard University Library, said, "The collaboration between major research libraries and Google will create an important public good of benefit to students, teachers, scholars, and readers everywhere."
They need to create a computer that looks and feels like a book: but when you open it it could be just about any book in the world, because it's a computer. A while back they came out with reusable electronic 'paper'. Now just bind that, and give it wireless Internet access!
VirginiaHuguenot
Puritanboard Librarian
ajrock2000
Puritan Board Freshman
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...yProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=PRS500U2
I dunno if this is what you are talking about, but I think its pretty cool!
Ahem, Andrew.
[hint]We have a new Links Manager. Golly, these links would be a great addition to the Educational Links[/hint]
[hint]We have a new Links Manager. Golly, these links would be a great addition to the Educational Links[/hint]
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