Google to scan books from major libraries; NY, Oxford, Harvard

SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc. is trying to establish an online reading room for five major libraries by scanning stacks of hard-to-find books into its widely used Internet search engine.The ambitious initiative announced late Monday gives Mountain View, Calif.-based Google the right to index material from the New York public library as well as libraries at four universities — Harvard, Stanford, Michigan and Oxford in England.The Michigan and Stanford libraries are the only two so far to agree to submit all their material to Google’s scanners.The New York library is allowing Google to include a small portion of its books no longer covered by copyright while Harvard is confining its participation to 40,000 volumes so it can gauge how well the process works. Oxford wants Google to scan all its books originally published before 1901.

Oxford wants Google to scan all its books originally published before 1901This is staggaring how much the digital world is taking over and everyone is realizing the fact that this is the next epoch in print. What a task that google is taking on.. I can't imagine how much man power is required to do something like this.

I said the exact same thing. I wonder what format they will be using? I have seen quite a few old books in pdf.Yes most likely pdf and alot of those old volumes before 1901 are religious in nature.. this could be a huge research tool for materials that really wouldn't be available to the average chrisitan before. Most of these large instutions where religious in its roots so there are many volumes of quality on christian matters I am sure.

Praise God! I just heard it on the radio!!