More Content Being Added to Microsoft Live Book Search, Don't Forget About Other Sources Including Amazon's Search Inside the Book
Remember, Microsoft released (beta) a book search service (Live Book Search, MLBS) late last year. You can access it here. We've also listed other posts and reviews about MLBS below.
Today, Microsoft is announcing that it has received the OK from to include copyrighted material from "dozens of publishers." So, now in addition to Amazon's Search Inside the Book" (SITB) and Google Book Search you'll be able to find and read a limited amount of content from various publishers. Each results page (here's an example) includes how much (a percentage) of the title is available for online viewing. Cursor over the entry and get more book info and direct links to purchase the book. Hopefully, OCLC links will be coming soon. Also, note the "hit map."
To use the hit map:
1. After you've searched for a book, click a search result for an in-copyright book.
2. In the right reading pane, there is a rectangular box with colored areas. Click a green section to jump to a preview page that includes your search term.
No details on how often you can view more pages. You will need to login with a LiveID to view content.
See Also: Live Book Search Help and Documentation
Btw, did you notice that the search box to search books says, "search inside the book." Yes, that's the name of Amazon.com's service.
This Reuters article is interesting in that it makes no mention of what Amazon.com was the fist to do with SITB. As we've said in the past, SITB not only makes thousands of books available to view online (how much is determined by the publisher as it is elsewhere) but also the interesting and useful stats SITB offers.
Here's an SITB example. First, place your cursor on the book cover image and watch a box appear. You'll find:
+ A search box to search this specific title
+ Citations to this book from other books in the Amazon database
+ Concordance (Top 100 words used in the book)
+ Key Phrases and Names
You can also get all of this info by going here.
Here's another example, in this case you'll find more data including statistics about the actual text of the book.
UPDATE: We would be remiss if we didn't point out that MS, Google, and Amazon aren't the only places online to find full text (and often free) books online. Here are a few (of thousands) of others.
+ Shop ebrary
Many know this service as one licensed to libraries. However, they also offer over 20,000 NEW books free. All you need to do is put a minimum of $5 on account. You are only charged to print or copy a page. About 25 cents per page.
+ The World eBook Library
Beginning in about one month the entire collection will be free for 30 days.
+ Finally, don't forget that MANY libraries offer (free) services like NetLibrary, Safari, and Books24x7. These resources allow users to read the full text of a book, make notes, etc. In most cases they are available remotely, no need to visit your local library. A library card is all that you need.
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