Google Makes Its First Public Domain Books Available Online

Last December, search giant Google reached an agreement with five libraries -- University of Michigan, Harvard University, Stanford University, The New York Public Library, and Oxford University -- to digitize their collections and make them available on the web. It seemed a natural fit, as Google's mission statement reads like a library mission statement: "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." The Google Print project has been attacked by publishers and authors, who argue that the digitizing of these materials without express permission is a violation of copyright. Google maintains that the project is consistent with fair use and the other principles underlying copyright law. Publishers maintain that the law is clear: the burden is on Google to seek permission, not on publishers to deny permission.

Editorials in the library sphere have been ambivalent. While recognizing the tremendous advantages gained by full text searching and relevance ranking of text previously locked away within print, scholars and librarians are concerned about the "atomization" of text -- of information without context. Many are critical of the secrecy surrounding Google's agreements with the libraries, and they are suspicious of Google's profit motives.

The project marches on. Google is expected to resume scanning this month (they voluntarily put a moratorium on scanning for three months while negotiating with publishers), and it was announced that the full text of some public domain books is now online through Google Print. Microsoft has taken notice, and next year will launch the MSN Book Search service.

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