Barbara Quint, Google and Research Libraries Launch Massive Digitization Project, Information Today, December 20, 2004. Excerpt: 'Although some library participants apparently were worried that publishers might object to the program on the grounds of copyright violation, Patricia Schroeder, executive director of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), assured me that they have no immediate plans to try to deter the program, such as through legal action....[Schroeder] admitted that publishers reissuing public domain works in print might take a hit, but she then pointed to the advantage to publishers, particularly small ones, of having their backlists digitized and promoted for free....Clicking in the Google Print box will retrieve the full-image of public domain works and up to three snippets of text and bibliographic citations for copyrighted material. In situations where Google Print has a working relationship directly with publishers, publishers will allow fuller descriptions and a full-text percentage available to users each month. Public domain works are not downloadable. Readers will have the option to browse and read the image texts online while connected to Google. When I asked Smith whether Google was prepared to have thousands of readers connected to its system reading full-length books, he replied, "Absolutely."...[B]oth Harvard and the University of Michigan used the term "revolutionary" in referring to the program’s possible impact. John Wilkin, associate director for digital library services at the University of Michigan, said: "This is the day the world changed. It will be disruptive because some people will worry that this is the beginning of the end of libraries. But this is something we have to do to revitalize the profession and make it more meaningful."...[Stanford's Michael Keller] assured the interviewer that the university would be happy to work with other leading search engines. However, due to the agreement with Google and the huge investment Google was making, the university could not take Google's product and give it away. On the other hand, the NYPL's press release announcing the program stated that it planned to make the electronic copies of public domain books supplied to it by Google available on its own Web site.'
Posted by
Peter Suber at 12/20/2004 03:18:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
