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02.09.06
Book Search Praised From "Lion’s Den"
 By
Jason Lee Miller
Google's Book Search project got major kudos from University of Michigan President
Mary Sue Coleman speaking from within "the
lion's den" also known as the Association of American Publishers (AAP). The
AAP launched a lawsuit against Google in October 2005 alleging copyright infringement
as a result of the search company's massive book digitization project.
In her speech,
Coleman called Google's project
"legal, ethical, and noble." The UM President, whose school's library was picked
as one of several libraries to participate in book scanning, was invited to speak
by the AAP.
Coleman said Google Book Search was:
"Legal because we believe copyright law allows us the fair use of millions
of books that are being digitized. Ethical because the preservation and protection
of knowledge is critically important to the betterment of humankind. And noble
because this enterprise is right for the time, right for the future, right for
the world of publishing, right for all of us."
The librarians at UM were already scanning books "long before" Google approached
the university, said Coleman.
"As one of our librarians says, ‘We believed
in this forever.'"
Since Google announced the project (once called Google Print for Libraries), the
company has been met with fierce reactions from European
nations fearing an over-Anglicized slant on available information, and criticism
and lawsuits from the Authors Guild and the AAP over intellectual property and
copyrights.
Google has stated it will make available full copies of only books in the Public
Domain, or books published prior to 1922 in the US and non-copyrighted books like
ones supplied by the
government.
Books still in copyright will be scanned from the libraries of the University
of Michigan, Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and the New York Public Library. Only
snippets of
text from copyrighted works will be available, displayed in context around search
terms. Google cites Fair
Use precedents to defend the scanning.
Publishers have expressed concerns that digitizing the books, or making copies
of them for display, is fundamental copyright violation; that Google did not attempt
to seek author and publisher permission before proceeding; and that Google stands
to make money from the project without passing royalties to authors and publishers.
Some have called for Congressional hearings
on the matter.
In addition to Fair Use, Google states that it has no
plans to advertise alongside provided snippets of material.
oleman began and ended her speech referencing the 3rd President of the United
States Thomas Jefferson and his love for books.
"Thomas Jefferson would
have loved Google Book Search. He believed in contemplating every possible idea.
He advocated the diffusion of knowledge, and the power of universities to make
that happen."
The main idea of her defense centered on the benefits of preservation, open access,
public education, technology, and the rights of book owners.
"It means
stepping up, looking forward, and saying: ‘Let's do it.'"
About
the Author:
Jason L. Miller is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.
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