RSSGoogle Now Offering Book Downloads
By Nate Mook | Published August 30, 2006, 2:01 PM
Google on Wednesday began offering full downloads of out-of-copyright books in PDF format, enabling users to read at their own pace or use an ebook device. Currently being offered are a handful of classics and obscure titles in the public domain.
Google Book Search is a project by the search engine to digitize as many books as possible, making it possible to search for specific references instantly. The company has partnered with the University of California, Harvard, the University of Michigan, Oxford, and the New York Public Library.
Google earlier this year also invited publishers to submit their books directly to the project and set prices for access. That effort was intended to cover viewing only in a Web browser, however, while preventing downloads and copying of material.
Not all has gone smoothly for Google Book Search since its inception in 2005. The service has already been the target of at least two lawsuits, one from the Association of American Publishers, and another from the non-profit Author's Guild. Both are attempting to block Google from copying books, and have accused it of copyright infringement.
Still, Google is optimistic about the program. "Of course, this is just the beginning. As we digitize more of the world's books -- whether rare, common, popular or obscure -- people everywhere will be able to discover them on Google Book Search," said associate product manager Adam Mathes.
Among those books being offered as a PDF download are, Dante's "Inferno," Aesop's "Fables," Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Ferriar's The "Bibliomania." Users can find the downloads by selecting the "Full view" radio button when searching on books.google.com.
"Please note that we do not enable downloading of any book currently under copyright. Unless we have the publisher’s permission to show more, we display only small snippets of text –- at most, two or three sentences surrounding your search term -– to help you determine if you’ve found what you’re looking for," explained Mathes.
It is too bad this article didn't give Google proper credit for what they are trying to do including the protections they will provide copyright holders. Google's service hopes to index as many books as possible to enable searching on those texts. For copyrighted material only an excerpt of that book would be returned in a "fair use" sort of way. Think of the potential of having the power of Google to search through the entire text of the Library of Congress. I'm sure every book lover will agree this is an awesome project!
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crap!!!
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Sorry, but I disagree, Ebooks and the readers are a format that just doesnt cut it. They are ALL like using a microfiche reader!
And publishers have NOTHING to fear, as their current copyrighted material CANNOT be given away free! Or have you been totally ignorant of music DRM issues!
ONLY the public domain stuff can be distributed free without requiring permission!
The only thing publishers should rightly fear is the non-starter that Ebook technology offers - an awkward, high priced solution to a non-existent problem.
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we are getting closer to a virtual life :(
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Demand for e-books will eventually skyrocket once the hardware is cheap enough and I think it's good that Google is getting prepared.
However, electronic readers such as the Sony Reader are about $300-$400 USD which is almost as much as an inexpensive laptop!
The site is just starting, but if they organize it well it should be popular in the future.
As for publishers, I doubt they are worried as much about the small percentage of book out-of-copyright as the inevitable sharing of books the way MP3's and Movies (DVD and Divx) are currently being shared on Torrent and Sharing sites on the Internet.
(FYI, great progress is being made with "e-paper" and e-book readers that are only a few millimeters thick or that can be rolled up are a real possibility in the near future. Black and White of course.)
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as a book fan i am horrified at the thought of electronic books for free as publishers must be worried, but i can also see the advantages and take my hat off to google in advancing the ability of the net to offer texts for free, me will i be downloading ... no way i love my laptop and work as a hi tech crime investigator for a police force, but i still love to be able to pick up a book and read where ever, you certainly wont get the feel and the smell of a dusty old book so me no .. but i guess others will so horrified yes but i move with the times as they say.
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Truly awful; nothing more than an ad link to sell books. Finding an actual book that you can download is a PITA. I like and of course, links like The Great Books List and UPENN's free site better.
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Unless my printer is going to bind it up in a cover, I think I'll pass.
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Pardon me while I go download The Inferno...
The irony is that laser printing costs are in many cases greater than the cost of the printed copy!
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Yeah, a lot more. I've never heard of anyone printing ebooks though, they're really just for reading online or on a reader of some type.
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"The irony is that laser printing costs are in many cases greater than the cost of the printed copy!"
Welcome to the world of volume discounts.
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what happens if you print it and sell it on ebay ? ..... bet some mug buys it
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