Mark Herring, Don't Get Goggle-Eyed Over Google's Plan to Digitize, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 11, 2005 (accessible only to subscribers. Excerpt: 'Digitization is big news; it's a good idea; and it's inevitable. But let's not get all goggle-eyed over Google right away. Here are five reasons not to tear up your library card quite yet. [1] Copyright. A recent Chronicle article ("Google Will Digitize and Search Millions of Books From 5 Top Research Libraries," January 7) was one of the few early reports to mention copyright. Current copyright law, to say nothing of Congress's continuing interest in increasing the length of time that works are protected by copyright, should give everyone at Google heartburn....[2] Past failures. Four other companies have tried to do just the sort of digitization that Google is undertaking, and they have had problems....[3] Preserving books. Yes, the new machines that Google has can digitize pages with incredible speed. But no matter how fast (and faster, in this case, may not be better), digitization is not good for books, however good it may be for the reader....[4] Google's future....It would be very easy for libraries to become overreliant on Google, with pressures on them from every side to reduce costs. In that case, what would librarians do if Google suddenly vanished or went out of the digitization business?...[5] Ecological concerns. Whenever any of us arrives at a Web site that has information we need, what do we usually do after checking out the first or second screen? We hit the print button....Besides, the portability, convenience, and even comfort of a book are integral components of our intellectual lives. No one has yet made a convincing case that it's time to give up on books -- or libraries.' (PS: It should go without saying, but Google's purpose is not to make us give up on books or libraries.)
Posted by
Peter Suber at 3/07/2005 10:17:00 AM.
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.
