Where'd Google Print Go?

With little fanfare, Google has changed the name of its digital library initiative from Google Print to Google Book Search. The old URL, print.google.com now refers surfers to books.google.com.

While the change doesn't look like much, on close examination it clearly represents a fundamental shift in Google's digital library philosophy. The title alone implies that the service is more of a book search/finding engine rather than a final destination for researchers – which, of course, it was all along!

Where'd Google Print Go?

With little fanfare, Google has changed the name of its digital library initiative from Google Print to Google Book Search. The old URL, print.google.com now refers surfers to books.google.com.

While the change doesn't look like much, on close examination it clearly represents a fundamental shift in Google's digital library philosophy. The title alone implies that the service is more of a book search/finding engine rather than a final destination for researchers – which, of course, it was all along!

Ever Wonder Where's Google Going to Backup All Those Virtual Books?

Faced with the near impossible task of securely and permanently preserving and protecting thier substantial investment in the production of the millions of pages of books that it intends to scan and make available worldwide on the internet, Google has entered into an agreement with Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA under which Google will take possession of the storied former US Army airship base and mammoth dirigible hangars and indoor training center in Mountain View, California's Moffet Field.
Think about it, according to Google's stated plan, millions of books will be scanned into an enormous database that will ultimately be at the mercy of hackers, systems upgrades and a national power source. The only way to guarantee the collection's permanence is to store all the original data in hard copy! The 200-foot high Hangar One is a ready-made building of the appropriate capacity to store millions and millions of books and is a ready-acknowledgement of the safety and permanence of hard copy materials vis a vis a digital library!
From a press release of 28 September 2005:

“Google and NASA share a common desire-to bring a universe of information to people around the world,” said Eric Schmidt, Google chief executive officer.

USA Today Editorial Gets it Right!

In terrific editorial, Needless fight threatens Google's online library, USA Today defends Google's "online library" initiative in convincing and in insightful ways. Excerpts:

"The publishers are not without reasonable arguments, but Google's are better. Copyright law specifically allows limited copying of protected material for purposes that serve the public — such as commentary, news reporting, teaching and scholarship — and Google's plan has broad public benefits. It will greatly expand the universe of knowledge online and could renew interest in out-of-print books.(Emphasis mine.)

"What's more, a ruling that Google needs the specific permission from publishers to index a minimum of information could call into question the very notion of search engines...."

"Amazon Pages:" the iTunes of the Publishing World?

According to a recent article in idm.net.au Amazon is set to launch new services called Amazon Pages and Amazon Upgrade. To quote the article:

"Building on its successful Search Inside the Book technology, Amazon is developing two new programs that will allow customers to search the complete interior text of hundreds of thousands of books and purchase online access to any page, section or chapter of a book, as well as the book in its entirety.
....
""Amazon Pages and Amazon Upgrade leverage Amazon's existing Search Inside the Book technology to give customers unusual flexibility in how they buy and read books," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO, Amazon.com. "In collaboration with our publishing partners, we're working hard to make the world's books instantly accessible anytime and anywhere.""

A clever twist on the "online library" movement....

Apologies to Readers

I have lately been experiencing technical difficulties with the Widget that I've been using to create entries to my blog. It reports a successful post and appears on the page when I check it. However the next day it simply disappears.

As a result, lots of brilliant (!) entries have been lost. Over the next week or so I will endeavor to recreate the ones I can remember.

I have also changed the way that I am editing the posts so they will actually get posted! Truly I have been entering new material approximately once a week, sometimes more often. I intend to continue to do so.

My apologies (for appearing like I was) slacking....

Thinking Outside the Wrapper When Thinking about Print Newspapers

Wrting for TheStreet.com about the value (or lack thereof?) of print newspapers and the newspaper business, Jon Markman makes a brilliant observation about the intrinsic value of home delivery of printed newspapers:

"It's a random Saturday morning, and after an evening of watching a baseball game on television, reading about it online and talking about it with friends over instant messenger, I pad out to the to the rain-soaked steps in front of my house in my socks and eagerly grab the newspaper. I tear the wet plastic sheeting off the rolled up paper, snap off the rubber band, and plop down in front of a fire with a cup of coffee to read it.

"Even though it's only The Seattle Times, not quite one of the world's top 10 newspapers, this uncomfortable sock-soaking adventure is counted as a great pleasure. I've spent a decade writing and editing online, but scanning the newspaper -- skipping my eyes over headlines without having to do any clicking, imagine that -- is still something I value and enjoy. In fact, if news were only available online, the home delivery of a full-blown, hard-copy version of the product might be seen as a fantastic innovation."(Emphasis mine.)

It is true: If we had been raised on newspapers and books being available solely online, the development and distribution of these materials in hardcopy would probably be hailed as the death of computers!

Well said, Mr. Markman!

Leave it to Librarians!

According to a press release from RLG, dated 29 October 2005, RLG is partnering with an impressive group of business partners to create a unique online database of books. The partners include the California Digital Library, Adobe (uh-oh!) Yahoo!, HP, Microsoft (oh well....). An ecnouraging thing about this program is that materials to be digitized will be selected and bibliographically described by RLG members and scanned from member libraries. The unique thing will be apparent association with third parties who will, for a fee, bind and deliver hard copy of any materials discovered at the site.

Excerpts from the press release follow:

RLG, a not-for-profit organization of over 150 research libraries, archives, and museums announced today that it will be a contributor to and partner with the Open Content Alliance (OCA) (www.opencontentalliance.org), a consortium that is building a permanent archive of digitized text and multimedia content. Generally, textual material from the OCA will be free to read, and in most cases, available for saving or printing using formats such as PDF.

The OCA calls this initiative the Open Library Project (www.openlibrary.org). This project will create free Web access to important book collections from around the world. Books are scanned and then offered in an interface for free reading online. The books can be downloaded, shared, and printed for free. They can also be printed for a nominal fee by a third party, who will bind and mail the book to customers. The books are always free to read at the Open Library Web site.

Newcastle (England) City Libraries Launches 24-hour Reference Service

Apparently this service, developed by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in the UK links up a variety of libraries' reference staffs to be on call via email and online chat to handle any question from patrons. The article on 24dash.com does not explain how the on-call system works, but one does wonder how those late night reference questions are handled....

Google Print's Objective Revealed!

According to a USA Today article, "Google said its objective was to build the world's largest online card catalog."

What's more, "Google Print product manager Adam Smith says the biggest misconception is that Google's master plan is to display entire books online. "We don't have permission to do that," he says. "We're a finding tool, like a digital card catalog."

This is very insightful acknowledgement of what the Google Print initiative is all about. And a welcome one. Many people are tired of hearing how the compute is going to do away with reality as we know it. On the contrary, if it's a useful tool, it will actually enhance reality! That's what progress is all about. Right?

I still maintain that librarians need to be prepared for a rennaisance: free online services like this will mean better access to libraries and greater demand for books. Not only will libraries' collections grow, but our numbers of patrons will too.

European Commission Announces Plans for Google Digitization Rival

According to a News.com (c|net) article from 3 October 2005:

The European Commission isn't about to sit back and let Google have control over digitizing the world's information--it's planning to turn Europe's "historical and cultural heritage into digital content."

According to an EC announcement on Friday, the aim of the project is to digitize and preserve records of Europe's heritage--including books, film fragments, photographs, manuscripts, speeches and music--and make it available online to all European citizens. To make this happen, the European Union is proposing high-level cooperation between the member states and has set a deadline of Jan. 20, 2006, for first comments on the plans.

The Commission acknowledged that the process of making the resources in Europe's libraries and archives available on the Internet "is not straightforward." It identified three key areas for action: digitization, online accessibility and digital preservation. The Commission also noted that several such initiatives are already under way within Europe, including the Collect Britain project in the United Kingdom, which is backed by the British Library and partly funded by the U.K.'s National Lottery.

-Let the games begin!

University of California, Berkeley, Partners with Yahoo! to Create Digital Library

The Daily Californian, today, reports:

"With the digital support of Yahoo Inc., which will provide its search technology to the project, the materials are scheduled to be made available beginning in the spring of 2006 on the Open Content Alliance Web site, the global consortium building the archive.

"This program will allow UC Berkeley students and researchers to access material at the click of a mouse without having to search the stacks of Doe and Moffitt," said UC spokesperson Jennifer Ward. "It will also be a great convenience to the public, including high school students, who will have access to literature at the universities without having to find transportation to campus."

The literature will be available for download free of charge, opening the door to convenient public access to the historical documents."

Fort Wayne News Sentinenal Asks the Question of the Day:

In an article about the growing interest and availability of digital audio books, the writer's subtitle says it all: But so far the files can be used only on Windows, not on Apple’s iPod. NetLibrary and OverDrive, Inc., still won't (they say can'tprovide audio books in an iPod compatible format.

Don't these people read the news? iPod has dominated the digital audio market! Not good enough for MicroSoft devotees, I guess.... I think that this is just fascinating. I wonder if librarians refused to buy audio books that aren't compatible with iPod, if these companies would change?

The Financial Times Article Examines the Pros and Cons of Google Digitization Project

From the article: Tony Sanfilippo is of two minds when it comes to Google Inc’s ambitious programme to scan millions of books and make their text fully searchable on the internet. Mr Sanfilippo credits the programme for boosting sales of obscure titles at Penn Sdate University Press, where he works. But, he’s worried that Google’s plans to create digital copies of books obtained directly from libraries could hurt his industry’s long-term revenues.

Hmmm.... I wonder whether anyone has examined the impact Google's project will have on paper manufacturer's? I have a hunch they may sell a lot of paper!

Authors Guild Sues Google, Citing “Massive Copyright Infringement”

From the Author's Guild website press release dated 20 September 2005:

"The Authors Guild and a Lincoln biographer, a children's book author, and a former Poet Laureate of the United States filed a class action suit today in federal court in Manhattan against Google over its unauthorized scanning and copying of books through its Google Library program. The suit alleges that the $90 billion search engine and advertising juggernaut is engaging in massive copyright infringement at the expense of the rights of individual writers."

Bucking the Revolution! At Least Two Libraries Dragging Patrons into the Future Their Way - Whether Patrons Like it or Not!

Two library systems have announced that they are providing digital e-books to their patrons. Maricopa Library District and Hawaii State Library Systems have each announced that they are teaming with Overdrive.com to provide exciting new services to patrons.

An interesting aspect of each program is that in an age in which over fifteen million iPods have been sold, Overdrive.com doesn't support that technology! Preferring clumsy Microsoft Windows Media Player, the company - and libraries who partner with them - apparently believe that iPod owners aren't worth the effort. In trying to come accross as cutting edge by providing new services using new technology, they demand allegiance to the stuffy monopoly of Microsoft instead of appealing to the true innvators in the MP3 world.

An interesting demonstration of counter-revolution: Why adopt cutting edge technology when blunt-edge will do? After all, blunt edge is Windows compatible!

Go figure!?

A New Definition of Reality!

Dr. Sam Vakin, writing in The Global Politician strains to give us a definition of the book, vis a vis e-books, that demonstrates print's inherent foibles. In his desperate attempt to describe print in terms that show it is inferior to books in digital format, he declares:

"Ostensibly, consumers should gravitate to the feature-rich and much cheaper e-book. But they won't - because the medium is as important as the text message. It is not enough to own the same content, or to gain access to the same message. Ownership of the right medium does count. Print books offer connectivity within an historical context (tradition). E-books are cold and impersonal, alienated and detached. The printed word offers permanence. Digital text is ephemeral (as anyone whose writings perished in the recent dot.com bloodbath or Deja takeover by Google can attest). Printed volumes are a whole sensorium, a sensual experience - olfactory and tactile and visual. E-books are one dimensional in comparison. These are differences that cannot be overcome, not even with the advent of digital "ink" on digital "paper". They will keep the print book alive and publishers' revenues flowing."

Perhaps he has forgotten that computers, too, exist in three dimensions, and possess smell and other sensory attributes? It appears to me that his "criticisms" of print are also print's greatest virtues: they exist in the gestalt, the here and now. And, we humans are to be criticized as preferring books because we can hold them, use them without restriction and enjoy them right here, right now?

I'm confused....

Yahoo! and Google's Library Initiatives: The New OPAC's?

BusinessWeekOnline's Stephen Wildtrom recently wrote an interesting article about Yahoo!'s and Google's digital library initiatives. In the article, he makes observations that support a point I've been making continuously on this blog: that Google's "project ocean" will essentially create an online index to the great books of the world. Who knows? Perhaps we're on the verge of a rennaisance in libraries! Mr. Wildstrom concludes with the following observations:

"Even if I end up having to go to a university library to see the whole book, this still strikes me as a powerful tool that I would have died for back in my student days. As useful as the Web is, Google Print shows how much is missing. It's good to see it gradually coming within clicking distance."

Forbes' interesting comment on the "Invisible Web"

Steve Manes has written an interesting essay in the Digital Tools section of Forbes, titled "Google Isn't Everything." With cute, lay-persons' wonder he describes his discovery of the invisible web and the revelation that there beauty is only skin deep!

Most interesting, however, are his comments about arrangement of the resources in the library websites. Sounds vaguely similar to complaints librarians have heard for centuries regarding arrangement of collections. Remember Ranganathan's Fourth Law: Save the time of the reader.

Perhaps Yogi Berra was right again: The more things change, the more they remain the same....

Library Journal article about "LibraryCity" raises more questions than answers

In the article about an apparently interesting and innovative project called LibraryCity [Note: no spaces, a la modern tech patois], the adivosory librarian, Tom Peters is described as:

"an e-book usability expert as well as former director of the Center for Library Initiatives at the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), the academic consortium of the Big Ten universities and the University of Chicago."

Keep in mind an earlier posting below in which the University of Chicago is in the process of building what is being touted as being the largest print library in North America!

The highlight of the article comes when Peters is quoted:

“Our goal is to construct a worldwide digital library of both public-domain and copyright-protected e-books... LibraryCity wants to stretch the traditional notion of a library… For example, we will make it possible for readers to post study guides, comments, and other documents that support the continued use of public-domain information as well as copyright-protected e-books.” It’s not yet clear how that would work.

But it will be fun to see them try....