Page 180 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

Google Book Search | 1

Nevertheless, Google Book Search is by no means a completely charitable en-
deavor. Google is investing heavily so that it can bolster its reputation as the num-
ber-one source for information on the Internet. By partnering with these libraries,
not only does Google gain access to troves of content, they also associate them-
selves with the valuable brand names of Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, the University
of Michigan, and the New York Public Library. They can then pitch their program
to advertisers as a resource for curious readers who demand access to some of the
finest collections in the world. And advertisers are willing to pay heavily to target a
person specifically interested in The Joy of Cooking or The Life of Jimi Hendrix.
However, this project will not come cheaply for Google. The cost of digitizing
a library on the scale of the University of Michigan’s has been estimated at over
a billion dollars. Though Google has hordes of money to pursue these kinds of
projects, it is nevertheless taking an enormous financial risk to make the dream
of an all-digital library a reality.

why arE LiBrariEs Doing This?

Many wonder why a library wouldn’t want to do this. Google is willing to in-
vest billions in digitizing materials and has agreed not to charge libraries a penny
in the process. Each library in the partnership can choose what materials it wants
to share and what it wants to keep private (up to this point, only Michigan has
agreed to open its complete system to Google). Plus, Google has agreed to defend
every library in the partnership for every copyright lawsuit.
One benefit of the digitization partnership stressed by libraries is the impor-
tance of preservation. Scanning books could safeguard library collections in
times of natural disasters and war; for instance, Hurricane Katrina’s destruction
of collections within Tulane University’s library would have been less devastat-
ing if these collections had digital backups.
John Wilkin, the librarian in charge of Michigan’s digitization efforts, believes
that all materials everywhere should be scanned. In a personal interview in 2006
he stated, “Nothing is too insignificant—it will all have an audience. Every book
its reader, every reader its book.” Promoting accessibility to a worldwide forum
helps a library ensure that it is meeting its mission as a part of a public good and
public trust.
Finally, libraries are extremely aware of the dominance of the Internet in
today’s search for information—and they do not want to appear outdated or
left behind. Students overwhelmingly turn to online resources such as Google,
Yahoo, and Wikipedia over antiquated card catalogs as their speedy first op-
tion for research. The expectation of neatly ranked results and clickable searches
holds greater appeal than time spent burrowing through a library’s stacks. This
demand for speed puts libraries on the defensive, and, as a result, embracing
Google as a search mechanism could help a library move from appearing be-
hind the times to appearing as if it is keeping pace with them. Many libraries
have therefore decided that they must work with the Internet if they are to re-
main meaningful and useful for the next generation of researchers and readers.