Monday, March 14, 2005

Don't Get Goggle-Eyed Over Google's Plan to Digitize

another one from the Chronicle of Higher Ed
http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v51/i27/27b02001.htm
OK, here I'm going to just copy & paste from a msg on LITA-L about the article.
"Basically, this Op Ed piece lists 'five reasons not to tear up your library card quite yet':
  1. Copyright. Obviously Google has some issues to work out regarding their intent to scan copyrighted works at Stanford and Michigan.
  2. Past Failures. Not past Google failures, but rather past failures in large scale digitization projects by other organizations.
  3. Preserving Books. What impact will industrial strength/speed digitizing have on the physical books? The author suggests that Google may have "underestimated, perhaps substantially, the percentage of books that will be damaged or that cannot undergo rapid digitization."
  4. Google's Future. Basically concerned about what happens if Googlegets out of the book digitization business, if libraries rely too heavily on one source for digitization.
  5. Ecological Concerns. The author is concerned about increased demand for printing, and use of paper.

The author then lists a few other concerns:
  • Increased potential for plagiarism;

  • Heavy reliance on English-language materials;

  • Will there be advertising;

  • The books would promote 'picking and choosing, not really reading'".

from:
Bernie Sloan
Senior Library Information Systems Consultant, ILCSO
University of Illinois Office for Planning and Budgeting

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