Google Undertakes Library-Search Project

[tokkolo]

Google Undertakes Huge Library-Search Project

By Antone Gonsalves, TechWeb News

Google Inc. on Tuesday said it is working with major university libraries to scan their collections and make them searchable online, a huge undertaking that reflects how the search giant is inching into markets that could someday put it into direct competition with giant Internet retailer Amazon.com.

The project involves digitally scanning the library collections of Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Oxford and The New York Public Library, the Mountain View, Calif., search giant said. The effort is an expansion of the Google Print program, a service that assists publishers in making books and other offline information searchable online.

Google won't disclose how many books are currently searchable in the program, but said the University of Michigan, for example, has more than 7 million books in its collection. Harvard has more than twice as many books.

"It will take years to do, and our goal is to do it quickly, but there's a lot of challenges along the way and we'll have a better estimate (of the time it will take) as we get further along," Susan Wojcicki, director of product management for Google, said.

Read more: http://www.techweb.com/wire/ebiz/55301768

[Justin]

Wow that is great, thanks for that bit of news. I'm looking forward to that myself. Like one big e-Library, made by people who know how to make search engines work.

[Arisna]

I'm pleased to see Google collaborating with academia as of late. First the "Scholarly Article" search, and now this. It's a shame, sometimes, to see Google's power put to waste on crummy results. These two developments will do a lot for people who want credible material.

[geekerati]

This was just released today in the news and is related to tokkolo's original post, if anyone is interested.

Google Book Effort Draws French Ire
By David Worthington, BetaNews
February 21, 2005, 8:37 PM

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 that he is concerned Google's initiate 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.

In the subsequent weeks after the editorial was published, Jeanneney has toned down his statements made in the French media, but remains the leading proponent for mobilizing funding for the digitalization of European libraries. A Google spokesperson told BetaNews that Jeanneney's remarks were a reflection of his fundraising efforts.

Google announced in December that it had partnered with the New York public library and university libraries at Stanford, the University of Michigan, Harvard and Oxford. Collections that are public domain -- without copyrights -- will be among the first to be digitalized and brought online.

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."

BetaNews could not reach Jeanneney for comment by press time.

Beta News