In 2007, Princeton signed on as one of the partner libraries in the Google Books Search project. By the end of this six-year agreement, the University will have sent Google about one million books to be scanned. All of the books — which the University has ensured are in the public domain — will then be available for free on the internet. This is an exciting project, allowing Princeton to share some of its intellectual wealth with readers around the world.
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Though there is currently a lawsuit pending against the Google Books Search project by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, it does not pertain to Princeton’s participation in the project.
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But this legal challenge is a reminder that Princeton’s involvement with Google — though a positive and useful partnership — could pose problems in the future. For one, Google, a for-profit corporation, may not be around forever, as it is subject to the intense competition of the technology sector. And though Google’s current goal is to digitize every book ever published, this may not always be the case. It is not unreasonable to imagine that in the future Google may develop a commercial interest in digitizing only works that would appeal to large audiences to make time for its workforce to focus on more profitable ventures.
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One way to both reconcile this disparity between the profit motives of Google and the academic goals of Princeton, as well as to contribute to a more stable, long-term initiative, is for Princeton to join the HathiTrust. This promising nonprofit database started by Indiana University and the University of Michigan now includes 25 large university partners intent on creating a permanent database of digitized books not subject to the economic pressures corporations face.
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The Google Books Search project has given our library a great head start into the sphere of digital libraries, and at no cost. But to protect the purely academic spirit of digitized libraries, the University should seek alternatives to its participation in the Google project.
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