CBC Arts: University of California joins Google’s virtual library
The deal, to be announced Wednesday, is a major boost for popular search engine Google in its effort to convert millions of library books into digital form. It’s also the biggest expansion since a group of authors and publishers launched a lawsuit last fall. California has 10 campuses — including in Los Angeles and Berkeley — and 100 libraries.
UC is the fourth major U.S. university — along with Stanford, Michigan and Harvard — to contribute at least some of their library collections to the project. The New York Public Library and Oxford University are also allowing portions of their libraries to be scanned.
And, of course, some people are just against it, get this:
But publishers and authors are angry that despite the restrictions Google still intends to scan the books in their entirety, giving them access to copyrighted material.
The U.S. Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, the two trade groups suing Google, are also irritated by UC’s decision, though neither of their lawsuits directly target university libraries.
“We are concerned and we aren’t happy,” said Nick Evans, member services manager for the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers.
“There are no guarantees how this information might be used in the future.”
Excuse me, but when you go to the library don’t you have “access to copyrighted information?” DO they want to stop that too? What is their point?
Their point is that they want $.
Angel, everyone wants money. Just some want my money more then I do.
I have no idea what their claim would be against Google.
The point is at the top of their heads.
J/P=?
The point is for you know-nothings is that it is an entirely PRACTICAL different thing when information is digital and available, and when it is analog and not available.
I have a “hypothetical question” to all of you for this, out there. Say we had a machine that can download your thought patterns to a computer. Would you want compensation? (I bet you would).
These copyrighted works are the AUTHORS PROPERTY. They can, and should never be used, without the EXPRESS CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR. Reasonable use (which I believe in), should NEVER cause the loss of revenue to the author (from a NEW customer). End of story.
Of course people want money for their thoughts and ideas. If it is worth anything, they deserve the worth. How dare ANY of you to deny them their fair share of what they think of.
I have no problem with dissemenating knowledge and ideas, but those that publish such stuff as their career, deserve that they sow.
The authors only want a select group to be able to view the material. That particular group is the one that can readily access the material. Suppose I am interested in a particular book for my report, I go to my local library and it is not there. I am at a lost. My local library might be able to get a copy sometime but probably not in time for my report. The author does not want me to have the material for my report. It is nice to know that there are authors who write material just for themselves. If the author does not want people to have access to the material, then why write the material? Google will allow me access to the material.
lou
These copyrighted works are the AUTHORS PROPERTY. They can, and should never be used, without the EXPRESS CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR. Reasonable use (which I believe in), should NEVER cause the loss of revenue to the author (from a NEW customer). End of story.
Have you seen what copyrighted works via Google Print are like? (JCD, I still have Triangulation on CD). A sentence including the search, plus perhaps a line before and after, to keep it in context. Those who agree to larger excerpts can have the source page, and one before and one after.
Public Domain, of course, allows entire books.
Also, I have often discovered new sources via similar ‘browsing’, and there are plenty of writers out there who are much happier, because I purchased entire books rather than mess with trying to ‘rebuild’ the work one phrase at a time.
J/P=?
is this the same old radio versus MP3 debate?
what’s the big deal trying to block MP3’s when the song is available on recordable radio…
convenience/quality
yeah, you can check the book out, but you can’t easily and costlessly redistribute it the way you could if the whole book scan got out
# 5: Buy the book at Amazon. Then you have access and the author and his publisher will be happy.
Before there can be large scale copyright violations there has to be huge public demand for the copyrighted material. I suspect the material being scanned and presented for viewing is not hot burner stuff, probably more like the “Mating Habits Of The Peruvian Crocodile” variety. If you are into kinky crocodile sex then you’d probably download it and maybe even save it on a hard drive, but not print it out and hawk it on the streets.