ABSTRACT

Google Book Search, initially released as Google Print, allows the full-text searching of millions of books supplied by both publishers and libraries. More than 10,000 publishers and dozens of research libraries contribute. The Library Project is significant because it is a partnership with a commercial entity, because Google is funding the digitization, because the project exists on such a massive scale, and because of the speed with which so many works have been and are being scanned. The aspect that has created the most controversy, and legal action, is that some libraries are contributing works that are protected by copyright. A fascinating and critical debate has arisen around copyright protection, the fair use privilege, and what these mean in the digital age.