Today, Stanford University threw its hat into the ring for Google by expanding an earlier agreement with the search giant and agreeing to digitize the University's library. The move comes amidst legal controversy over the Google Book Search engine.
As you may know, Google Book Search is currently embroiled in a mess of legal issues that arose a few years back when book authors, book publishers, the Author's Guild and the Association of American publishers filed a pair of class-action lawsuits claiming that the service encroached on their intellectual property. An agreement was reached in 2008 that comprised these five major points explicating what search should include:
- More access to out-of-print and hard to find books.
- Additional ways to purchase copyrighted books and materials.
- A means for educational institutions such as colleges and universities to subscribe to entire collections.
- Free access from US libraries.
- Compensation and control for authors and publishers.
However, back in August 2009, the issue arose again when Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo and multiple library associations joined forces with the non-profit Internet Archive to challenge the Google settlement and push for revisions.
A Settlement in Limbo
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google revised the settlement in November — adding more pricing options and expounding on potential services. A Google spokesperson told the WSJ, "[The settlement] stands to unlock access to millions of books in the U.S. while giving authors and publishers new ways to distribute their work."
Still, folks remained unsatisfied, and were given the chance to file objections to the document directly to the U.S. District Court of the Southern District Court at the end of last year. The Court has set a fairness hearing for February 18.
Therefore, Stanford's decision, which makes it a Fully Participating Library according to the University's website, is a move that shows solidarity with Google on the college's part. Close to two million of Stanford's books have already been scanned, and now even more volumes — including those that are rare and hard to find — will be available to the world at large.
University Librarian Michael A. Keller said of the settlement:
"It creates a working partnership among authors, publishers, libraries and Google that will usher in a revolutionary change in access to books on library shelves, even beyond the incredibly powerful vision that Google Books first developed. It's no longer just about finding books of potential interest; it makes them vastly more readily readable. The agreement also compensates authors and publishers for the use of works that, by virtue of being out of print, would not have earned the rightsholders any income – a novel and, for most authors, a most welcome innovation."
[img credit: timetrax23]
Tags: books, business, Google, money, Stanford
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