David Worthington, Google Book Effort Draws French Ire, BetaNews, February 21, 2005. Excerpt: 'The National Library of France is not happy with Google's effort to scan and integrate millions of books into its Web search. Jean-Noel Jeanneney, President of the library, wrote in an editorial [French, English] that he is concerned Google's initiative to digitalize volumes at five leading libraries will reflect a unipolar worldview dominated by the English language and American culture. Jeanneney has designed a parallel program as a counterweight against the perceived political and cultural significance of Google's project. However his words may appear, Jeanneney insists that his remarks were not intended to be anti-American, and went out of his way to commend the short-term effects of Google's work as a "Messianic dream" that would "profit" under-privileged populations. In the long run, the librarian-in-chief cautioned against the domination of America for generations to come and its potential to skew thought without reflecting the diversity of civilizations....Google said it was surprised by Jeanneney's remarks. "For our perspective he (Jeanneney) had concern about Google Print because we partnered with Anglo Saxons. This is a first step for us; we can't do everything at once," a Google spokesperson told BetaNews. "It is our intention to be as inclusive as possible, respect the diversity of cultures and we will work with any library and are interested in talking to institutions with great works like BNF (Bibliotheque nationale de France)," the spokesperson added. "However, we cannot guarantee that it will spread to France." ' (PS: Also see the good discussion thread on the DigLib list about Jeanneney's editorial.)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 2/22/2005 02:38:00 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.
