Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 01:45:48 -0700 (PDT) From: Sue Fraser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Net-Gold <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Net-Gold] UC May Join Google's Library Project
<http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ la-me-ucgoogle2aug02,1,445043.story?track=rss> >From the Los Angeles Times UC May Join Google's Library Project The firm would gain access to 34 million volumes in its effort to offer digitized books. By Larry Gordon Times Staff Writer August 2, 2006 In a move with major significance for the worlds of academic research and publishing, the University of California is in talks to join Google's controversial project to digitize great libraries and offer books online. Google is keen to have access to UC's 34 million volumes from 100 libraries on 10 campuses, which is described as collectively the largest academic research library in the world. UC wants to delve more deeply into the Internet revolution with a deep-pockets partner like Google paying the costs of scanning books. UC President Robert C. Dynes and top UC librarians are negotiating a contract to follow six other prestigious library systems, including Harvard's and Stanford's, which already allow Google Inc. to scan and post on the Internet at least summary references to books. Older volumes in the public domain, generally those published before 1923, can be put on line in full, but debate and litigation surround how much material can be used from books that are still protected by copyright. Daniel Greenstein, UC's associate vice provost for scholarly information, said that joining the Google Books Library Project ??? with its ability to search for terms inside texts, not only in catalog listings ??? would help "create access like we've never had before to our cultural heritage and scholarly memory. It's a whole new paradigm." In an interview Tuesday, Greenstein said that such digitizing offers protection for writings that might be lost in natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and earthquakes. "It's the kind of stewardship that is absolutely vital to us and the community in general," said Greenstein, who oversees digital projects for UC libraries. A UC deal with Google could be announced within a month, officials said. However, the arrangement first faces close scrutiny from the UC regents and the publishing world for potential copyright issues and concerns that UC might lose out on future revenue. Last year, a group of U.S. publishers and the Authors Guild filed suits in federal court in New York against Google, contending that scanning copyrighted books without permission is copyright infringement, even if the books are not posted online or only tiny excerpts are shown. Allan Adler, vice president of legal and government affairs for the Assn. of American Publishers, which is backing one of the lawsuits, said he understood why the search engine giant would want to sign up UC's enormous libraries. "It would be a significant addition with the sheer volume of the materials involved," he said. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucgoogle2aug02,1,445043.story?track=rss OR http://snipurl.com/u9ji The entire article can be read at the above URL. Sincerely, Sue Fraser [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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