Google's announcement that it will digitally scan the book collections of four university libraries plus the New York Public Library has caused a stir inside and outside of publishing circles. While many have lauded the effort, which is part of the Google Print program, as a major step in disseminating information worldwide and perhaps stimulating book sales, others said the program raises a number of copyright issues, while also calling into question the future role of libraries.
Under the initiative, once a book is scanned it will become part of Google's search index. The universities of Michigan, Harvard, Stanford and Oxford have all agreed to take part in the program, although their involvement with Google varies. Michigan, with seven million volumes, and Stanford, with eight million, have agreed to have their entire collections scanned, while the NYPL is limiting its participation to the scanning of a collection of rare and public domain books. Harvard and Oxford are also participating in a limited way. Books to be scanned include rare and out-of-print books. Scanning will be done on-site and Google will work with the libraries to provide them with copies of all files, said Susan Wojcicki, director, product management, at Google.
Google users whose queries feature a search term from books scanned from the libraries will receive results similar in format to the kind that appear in the Google Print program. In addition to a brief excerpt and links to where the book can be bought, Google is adding a button that shows the closest library to the user where the book may be available. Google will also include a link to where out-of-print books can be bought, such as Alibris and Abebooks. How much of a book will appear on Google depends on its copyright status. Users will be able to browse the full text of public domain works, but for books that are under copyright, only bibliographic information and a "snippet" of the book will be shown, said Wojcicki.
Although a number of publishers are participating in Google Print, others, including Random House, have refrained from joining, due to copyright concerns. A spokesperson for Random House said the publisher continues to have "ongoing conversations" with Google about RH joining Google Print.
Several copyright experts interviewed by PW questioned the legal basis that gives Google the right to scan copyrighted materials, even if Google only intends to make a limited portion available. Copying a book's text without permission of the copyright holder could be considered copyright infringement, lawyers said. Even scanning only public domain titles is not a clear-cut issue, lawyers noted, since putting the material on the Web subjects the content to jurisdiction beyond the U.S., and a number of countries extend copyright protection for a longer period than the U.S.
A source at Google said that it believes the scanning of library books, much like its use of books in Google Print, "is well within the bounds of copyright."
James Neal, Columbia University librarian, called the program "transformational" and said while digitization has been a key focus of the library community and publishers, Google's announcement is clearly a jolt. "It takes this bubbling pot of digitization water quickly to a boiling point," said Neal. Dennis Dillon, associate university librarian at the University of Texas at Austin, called the program "brilliant," but said it means going "back to the drawing board for libraries" in terms of where to place new investments. Dillon said that while he would like more thought to go into the creation of the online information landscape, he acknowledged "that's out of my control. When all is said and done, Google is going to be the biggest library...and we've all got to deal with that."
For his part, Oxford University Press academic publisher Niko Pfund said he was cautiously optimistic about Google's impact on book sales. "I can see Google Print having great potential for generating additional print sales," he said.
