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Google Book Search is a tool from Google that searches the full text of books that Google scans and stores in its digital database. The service was formerly known as '''Google Print''' when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2004. When relevant to a user's keyword search, up to three results from the Google Book Search index are displayed above search results in the Google Web Search service (google.com). A user may also search just for books at the dedicated Google Book Search service. Clicking a result from Google Book Search opens an interface in which the user may view pages from the book as well as content-related advertisements and links to the publisher's website and booksellers. Through a variety of access limitations and security measures, some based on user-tracking, Google limits the number of viewable pages and attempts to prevent page printing and text copying of material under copyright protection.1 The Google Book Search service Remains in a Beta Stage but the underlying database continues to grow, with more than a hundred thousand titles added by publishers and authors and some 10,000 works in the Public Domain now indexed and included in search results. Google Book Search allows public-domain works and other out-of-copyright material to be downloaded in PDF format. For users outside the United States , though, Google must be sure that the work in question is indeed out of copyright under local laws. Says a member of the Google Book Search Support Team, "Since whether a book is in the public domain can often be a tricky legal question, we err on the side of caution and display at most a few snippets until we have determined that the book has entered the public domain."2 Many of the books are scanned using Google's undisclosed proprietary method. The most likely method is through a use of digital cameras in a setting not too different from a commercially available solution known as Atiz DIY Scanner . Another option is through the use of a , 2006 . The rapidity of the scanning precludes checking the pages. Hence, some pages are not scanned or are scanned in such a fashion as to make them unreadable.In ''Species Plantarum'' , it is difficult to find early pages (no pagination) and an image of the robotic page turner is seen.In ''The Merry-Go-Round'' , there are pages (e.g. 326) blocked by debris on the scanner.In ''The Making of a Saint '' , pages (''i.e.'' page 4) are cut in two and unreadable. In ''Italian Villas by Edith Wharton'' , some pages cut off, missing, or un-readable. reported that Google has already digitized one million volumes at an estimated cost of US$5 million New York Times ; March 11 , 2007 ; History, Digitized (and Abridged) {Link without Title} . TIMELINE
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OPPOSITION Google Book Search remains controversial. While librarians hail the initiative for its potential to offer unprecedented access to what may become the largest online corpus of human knowledge,78 the publishing industry and writers' groups have criticized the project's inclusion of snippets of copyrighted works as infringement. The Authors Guild of America9 and Association Of American Publishers 10 have separately sued Google , citing "massive Copyright Infringement ." Google claims its project represents a Fair Use , and is the digital age equivalent of a Card Catalog with every word in the publication indexed. Some European politicians and intellectuals have criticized Google's effort on "language-imperialism" grounds, arguing that because the vast majority of books proposed to be scanned are in English, it will result in disproportionate representation of natural languages in the digital world. German, Russian, and French, for instance, are popular languages in scholarship; the disproportionate online emphasis on English could shape access to historical scholarship, and, ultimately, the growth and direction of future scholarship. Among these critics is Jean-Noël Jeanneney , the president of the '' Bibliothèque Nationale De France ''11 In June 2006, a French publisher announced its intention to sue Google France.12 In 2006 a previously-filed German lawsuit was withdrawn.13 In March 2007, Thomas Rubin, associate general counsel for copyright, trademark, and trade secrets at Microsoft, accused Google of violating copyright law with their book search service. Rubin specifically criticized Google's policy of freely copying any work until notified by the copyright holder to stop.14 In addition, there is the matter of quality. Many books currently available through Google have been poorly scanned, often to the point of illegibility. Portions of text are sometimes cut off by poor placement on the surface of the scanner, and the hands and fingers of the scanning personnel are sometimes visible on the scanned page, usually covering text. Google does provide a feedback mechanism for reporting illegible or missing pages. Google licensing of public domain works is also an area of concern , Google apparently is claiming a restrictive 'No-Commercial use' term in respect of the PDF electronic versions it provides, as well as protecting those PDF with Digital Watermarking techniques. REFERENCES SEE ALSO
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