From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Google Books Library Project is an effort
by Google to scan and make
searchable the collections of several major research libraries.[1] It and
Google's Partner Program comprise Google Book
Search. Along with bibliographic
information, snippets of text from a book are often viewable. If a
book is out of copyright
and in the public domain, the book is fully available to read or to
download.[2]
Participants
The Google Books Library Project continues to evolve;[3]
however, only some of the institutional partners are listed on the
web page currently maintained by Google:[4]
Initial
Project Partners
The number of academic libraries participating in the
digitization and uploading of books from their collections has
grown beyond the original five: Harvard, Michigan, Stanford,
Oxford, and the New York Public Library.
Harvard
University
Harvard
University (and Harvard University Library)
is an institutional participant in the project.[5]
The Harvard University Library
(HUL) today is
best understood as a coordinated system of more than 80 libraries
with shared holdings. The University Library is also a department
of the University's central administration through which the
libraries collaborate in the areas of digital acquisitions and
collections, information technology, high-density storage, and
preservation.[6]
The Harvard University Library and Google are building on a
successful pilot conducted by Harvard and Google throughout 2005.
The project will increase Internet access to the holdings of the
Harvard University Library, which includes more than 15.8 million
volumes. While physical access to Harvard's library materials
generally is restricted to current Harvard students, faculty, and
researchers, or to scholars who can come to Cambridge, the
Harvard-Google Project has been designed to enable both members of
the Harvard community and users everywhere to discover works in the
Harvard collection.
- "The new century presents important new opportunities for
libraries, including Harvard's, and for those individuals who use
them. The collaboration between major research libraries and Google
will create an important public good of benefit to students,
teachers, scholars, and readers everywhere. The project harnesses
the power of the Internet to allow users to identify books of
interest with a precision and at a speed previously unimaginable.
The user will then be guided to find books in local libraries or to
purchase them from publishers and book vendors. And, for books in
the public domain, there will be even broader access."[4]
- "The Harvard-Google Project links the search power of the
Internet to the depth of knowledge in Harvard's world-renowned
libraries. Harvard has been collecting books for nearly four
centuries. Among our out-of-copyright books are countless unique
copies, unusual editions, and neglected or forgotten works. Our
efforts with Google will bring about the broad dissemination of the
knowledge contained in those books and, with it, significant
information about the world views that those books represent ....
By working with Google, Harvard is furthering an essential aspect
of the University Library's mission, which is to serve scholars
around the world."
-
- -- Sidney
Verba, the former Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and
former Director of the University Library.[5]
New York
Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is an institutional participant
in the project.[7]
In this pilot program, NYPL is working with Google to offer a
collection of its public domain books, which will be scanned in
their entirety and made available for free to the public online.
Users will be able to search and browse the full text of these
works. When the scanning process is complete, the books may be
accessed from both The New York Public Library's website and from
the Google search engine. [7]
- "The New York Public Library Research Libraries were struck by
the convergence of Google's mission with their own. We see the
digitization project as a transformational moment in the access to
information and wanted not only to learn from it but also to
influence it. Our response at present is a conservative one, with a
limited number of volumes in excellent condition, in selected
languages and in the public domain. With appropriate evaluation of
this limited participation, we look forward to a more expansive
collaboration in the future."
-
- -– David
Ferriero, Andrew W. Mellon Director and Chief Executive of the
Research Libraries, The New York Public Library.[4]
Stanford
University
Stanford University (and Stanford
University Libraries/SULAIR) is an institutional participant in the
project.[8]
- "Stanford has been digitizing texts for years now to make them
more accessible and searchable, but with books, as opposed to
journals, such efforts have been severely limited in scope for both
technical and financial reasons. The Google arrangement catapults
our effective digital output from the boutique scale to the truly
industrial. Through this program and others like it, Stanford
intends to promote learning and stimulate innovation."
-
- -– Michael A. Keller, University Librarian.[4]
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (and the
Michigan University Library) is an institutional participant in the
project called the Michigan
digitization project.[9]
- "The project with Google is core to our mission as a great
public university to advance knowledge — on campus and beyond. By
joining this partnership that makes our library holdings searchable
through Google, UM serves as an agent in an initiative that
radically increases the availability of information to the public.
The University of Michigan embraces this project as a means to make
information available as broadly and conveniently as possible.
Moreover, the UM Library embarked on this ground-breaking
partnership for a number of very compelling reasons:
- "We believe that, beyond providing basic access to library
collections, this activity is critically transformative, enabling
the University Library to build on and re-conceive vital library
services for the new millennium.
- "This work will create new ways for users to search and access
library content, opening up our collections to our own users and to
users throughout the world.
- "Although we have engaged in large-scale, preservation-based
conversion of materials in the Library's collection for several
years, and have been a leader in digital preservation efforts among
research libraries, we know that only through partnerships of this
sort can conversion of this scale be achieved. Our program is
strong, and we have been able to digitize approximately 5,000
volumes/year; nevertheless, at this rate, it would take us more
than a thousand years to digitize our entire collection."
-
- -– John P. Wilkin, Associate University Librarian.[4]
University
of Oxford
University of Oxford is an
institutional participant in this project.[10] Oxford
is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and its
historic Bodleian Library is the oldest
university library.
- "The Bodleian Library's mission, from its founding in 1602, has
been based on Sir Thomas Bodley's vision of a library serving the
worldwide 'Republic of Letters', with the Library's collections
open to all who have need to use them. To this day over 60% of
readers who use and work in the Bodleian Library have no direct
affiliation with the University of Oxford . The Google Library
Project in Oxford testifies to our ongoing commitment to enable and
facilitate access to our content for the scholarly community and
beyond. The initiative will carry forward Sir Thomas Bodley's
vision and the ethos of the Bodleian Library into the digital age,
allowing readers from around the world to access the Library's
collections over the World Wide Web."
-
- -– Ronald
Milne, former Director of Oxford University Library &
Bodleian Librarian.[4]
Additional Project
Partners
Other institutional partners have joined the Project in the
years since the partnership was first announced.
Bavarian
State Library
The Bavarian State Library (Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek or BSB) is an institutional
participant in the project.[11]
- "With today's announcement we are opening our library to the
world and bringing the true purpose of libraries — the discovery of
books and knowledge — a decisive step further in into the digital
era. This is an exciting effort to help readers around the world
discover and access Germany's rich literary tradition online —
whenever and wherever they want."
-
- — Dr. Rolf
Griebel, Director General of the Bavarian State Library.[4]
Columbia
University
Columbia University (and Columbia University
Library System) is an institutional participant in the
project.[4]
- "Our participation in the Google Book Search Library Project
will add significantly to the extensive digital resources the
Libraries already deliver," said James Neal, Columbia's vice
president for information services and university librarian. "It
will enable the Libraries to make available more significant
portions of its extraordinary archival and special collections to
scholars and researchers worldwide in ways that will ultimately
change the nature of scholarship."
-
- — James G.
Neal, University Librarian and Vice-President for Information
Services at Columbia University.[4]
Committee on
Institutional Cooperation (CIC)
The Committee on
Institutional Cooperation (CIC)
is an institutional participant in the project.[12] The
CIC developed in the late 1950s from a cautious exploration of the
ways in which 11 major universities — two private and nine
state-supported — might pool their resources for the common good.
Today the CIC is an active participant in the Google Books Library
Project, which becomes something of a logical extension of the
initial working relationships forged a half century ago amongst Big
Ten universities and the University of Chicago.
- The CIC is a consortium of 12 research universities:
The CIC is guided by the Provosts of the member universities;
and the CIC Digital Library Initiatives Overview Committee monitors
the digitization and dissemination of books in the CIC
collections.[13]
- "This partnership with Google is one of the most ambitious
undertakings in the history of the CIC, and sets the stage for a
remarkable transformation of library services and information
access. We're opening up these resources as both a common good
shared among the universities, as well as a public good available
more broadly. "
-
- — Barbara McFadden Allen, Director of the CIC.[4]
Complutense University of
Madrid
The Complutense University of
Madrid (Universidad
Complutense) is an institutional participant in the
project.[14]
- "Out-of-copyright books previously only available to people
with access to the University Complutense of Madrid's Library, or
the money to travel, will now be accessible to everyone with an
Internet connection, wherever they live. We are quite literally
opening our library to the world. The opportunities for education
are phenomenal and we are delighted to be working with Google on
this project."
-
- — Carlos Berzosa, Chancellor.[4]
Cornell
University
Cornell
University (and Cornell University Library)
is an institutional participant in the project.[15]
- "Research libraries today are integral partners in the academic
enterprise through their support of research, teaching and
learning. They also serve a public good by enhancing access to the
works of the world's best minds. As a major research library,
Cornell University Library is pleased to join its peer institutions
in this partnership with Google. The outcome of this relationship
is a significant reduction in the time and effort associated with
providing scholarly full-text resources online."
-
- — Ann R. Kenney, Interim Cornell University Librarian.[4]
Ghent
University Library
Ghent
University (and Boekentoren/Ghent University Library) is
an institutional participant in the project.[16]
- 'We are thrilled to open our books and our library to the world
through this project. This is an exciting effort to help readers —
no matter where they are — discover and access part of Belgium and
Europe's rich literary tradition and culture. In addition, we are
about to start a multi-year project to renovate our library
building, and while our library's doors will be closed, its books
will remain open to students and academics through Google Book
Search."
-
- — Sylvia Van Peteghem, Chief Librarian, Ghent University
Library.[4]
Keio
University
Keio
University (and Keio Media Centers
(Libraries)) is an institutional participant in the
project.[17]
- "The Google project allows us to make our collections visible
worldwide, so that our books will contribute to research and
education on a global scale. Our university was founded in 1858 by
Yukichi Fukuzawa, who was well known for his commitment to bringing
information and media forward in modern Japan. This makes Keio
ideally suited to be the first Japanese library to participate in
Google Book Search."
-
- — Professor S. Sugiyama, Director, Keio University Library.[4]
National Library of
Catalonia
The National Library of
Catalonia (Biblioteca de Catalunya)
is an institutional participant in the project.[18]
- "It once was the case that only those who could visit our
library were able to 'visit' our books. Now, anyone interested in
the vast number of titles our library houses will be able to find
and access them online–or perhaps just discover them by chance via
a simple search of the Google Book Search index. This is a
tremendous step forward for enabling readers all around the world
to discover and access the rich history of Catalonian, Castilian,
and Latin American literature."
-
- -- Dolors Lamarca, Director of the National Library of
Barcelona.[4]
Princeton
University
Princeton University (and Princeton University
Library) is an institutional participant in the project.[19]
- "Generations of Princeton librarians have devoted themselves to
building a remarkable collection of books in thousands of subjects
and dozens of languages. Having the portion of that collection not
covered by copyright available online will make it easier for
Princeton students and faculty to do research, and joining the
Google partnership allows us to share our collection with
researchers worldwide, a step very much in keeping with the
University's unofficial motto of Princeton in the nation's service
and in the service of all nations."
-
- — Karin Trainer, Princeton University Librarian.[4]
University of California
The University of California is an
institutional participant in the project.[20]
- "By unlocking the wealth of information maintained within our
libraries and exposing it to the latest that search technologies
have to offer, the University of California is continuing its work
to harness technology and our library collections in support of
research, learning, patient care, and cultural engagement. In this
new world, people will make connections between information and
ideas that were hitherto inaccessible, driving the pace of
innovation in all areas of life – academic, economic, and civic –
and enhancing the use of the world's great libraries.
- "With digital copies of our library holdings, we will also
provide a safeguard for the countless thousands of authors,
publishers, and readers who would be devastated by catastrophic
loss occasioned, for example, by natural disaster. Anyone who
doubts the impact that such disaster can have on our cultural
memory need look no further than the devastation wrought by
Hurricane Katrina on our sister libraries in the Gulf States.
- "As an institution that has built these vast collections as a
public good and in the public trust, joining the Google library
partnership was the right thing to do."
-
- — Daniel
Greenstein, Associate Vice Provost for Scholarly Information
and University Librarian.[4]
University Library of
Lausanne
The University of Lausanne (and the
Cantonal and
University Library of Lausanne) is an institutional participant
in the project.[21]
- "Out of copyright books previously only available to people
with access to Lausanne's university library, will now be
accessible to everyone with an Internet connection, wherever they
live. We are quite literally opening our library to the world. The
opportunities for education are phenomenal and we are delighted to
be working with Google on this project".
-
- — Hubert A. Villard, Director of the Cantonal and University
Library of Lausanne.[4]
University
of Mysore
The University of Mysore (and the Mysore University Library) is
an institutional participant in the project.[22]
University of Texas at
Austin
The University of Texas at
Austin (and the University of Texas Libraries) is an
institutional participant in this project.[23]
- "University libraries in our society are entrusted with the
critical mission of collecting and providing access to information
spanning the entire range of human knowledge. Our libraries are
also responsible for effectively preserving this knowledge and
ensuring access to it over vast periods of time. At the University
of Texas at Austin, we hold a deep commitment to each of these
objectives and believe that participating in this venture will help
ensure our ability to meet those commitments far into the future."
-
- — Fred Heath, Vice Provost and Director of
Libraries.[4]
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (and the
University of Virginia Library) is an
institutional participant in this project.[24]
- "The U.Va. Library was a pioneer in digitizing public domain
materials. We started with printed texts in 1992, and faculty and
students quickly discovered that long-forgotten and out-of-print
texts could reach new audiences and spark new scholarship. We have
often talked about libraries without walls, but now we are even
closer to realizing that vision, thanks to this partnership."
-
- — Karin Wittenborg, University Librarian, University of
Virginia.[4]
University of
Wisconsin–Madison
The University of
Wisconsin–Madison (and the University of Wisconsin Digital
Collection) is an institutional participant in this project.[25]
- "The combined library collections of the University of
Wisconsin–Madison Libraries and the Wisconsin Historical Society
Library comprise one of the largest collections of documents and
historical materials in the United States. Through this landmark
partnership with Google, Wisconsin is taking a leading role in
preserving public domain works for future generations and making
the Library's resources widely available for education and
research. This effort truly exemplifies the vision of The Wisconsin
Idea—the notion that the boundaries of the university are
limitless. The Wisconsin libraries have been following in this
tradition. The Google digitization efforts will enable the
libraries to expand access to public domain materials that have
heretofore only been accessible in the libraries. Much of this
material is rare and one-of-a-kind, providing a rich, open source
of information for educational, research and general public use."
-
- — Edward Van Gemert, Interim Director, UW–Madison
Libraries.[4]
See also
Notes
References
- Lester, June and Wallace C. Koehler. (2007). Fundamentals
of Information Studies: Understanding Information and Its
Environment. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers. 13-ISBN
978-1-555-70594-7/10-ISBN 1-555-70594-4; OCLC 122526045
- Miller, Michael. (2007). Googlepedia: the Ultimate Google
Resource. Indianapolis, Indiana: Que. 13-ISBN
978-0-789-73639-0/10-ISBN 0-789-73639-X; OCLC 224762694
- Stein, Linda L, and Peter J. Lehu. (2009). Literary
Research and the American Realism and Naturalism Period: Strategies
and Sources. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. 13-ISBN
978-0-810-86141-1/10-ISBN 0-810-86141-0; 13-ISBN
978-0-810-86242-5/10-ISBN 0-810-86242-5; OCLC 233798804
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