[Sigia-l] Just FYI - Library Discussion On Google Print, Google Scholar

[William Quimby]

Those interested in and curious about Google Print
and Google Scholar may want to read a few of the
items linked from Peter Suber's SPARC newsletter
for March 2005. These items are oriented to
librarians but will of course be of interest to
any and all "Information Technologists".
Particularly revealing is the argument from France
that if France (and other countries) do not soon
develop comparable plans the new "world library"
will be English only. See...


> Jean-Noël Jeanneney wrote an editorial on the 
> Google library project for the January 23 issue
>  of Le Monde, which has raised a storm of 
> comment. Jeanneney is an important observer: 
> former French secretary of state for 
> communications and the current President of the
>  Bibliothèque Nationale de France. His
> editorial is a protest but not a simple one. He
> does not call for abandoning the Google library
> project, only for a comparable project for the 
> literature of France and other cultures. He 
> notes correctly that no Francophile 
> organization has the money to match what Google
>  is investing, but he doesn't use that fact to 
> criticize Google. He laments the imbalance of 
> money, which may lead to an imbalance of online
>  scholarship and a corresponding imbalance of 
> understanding in disciplines like history. 
> Moreover, the online literature will likely be 
> mixed with advertising which will not only 
> distract from the content but generate revenue 
> for Anglo-American concerns, "accentuating the 
> imbalance". But he does not at all lament the 
> ambitious project to digitize books. On the 
> contrary, even while he articulates his 
> protest, he admits that the project triggers 
> "jubilation" at the "messianic dream" of 
> digitizing knowledge for free online access 
> worldwide.

> Google was clear from the start that it will 
> digitize English and non-English books alike, 
> though at first (because of the limitations on
>  scanning technology) it will give preference
> to books in languages using the Roman alphabet.
>  Google hasn't announced the percentages of the
>  different cultural streams. But in addition to
>  the abstract commitment to digitize across 
> languages and cultures, it has expressed an 
> interest in hearing from other libraries, 
> presumably in any country, willing to 
> participate in the next wave of digitization. 
> Meantime, as I see it, Jeanneney's criticism 
> will only do good: either by hastening the 
> enlargement of the Google project or by 
> stimulating even more local digitization 
> projects at national libraries and other 
> important collections around the world. On the 
> latter front, watch for the official launch, 
> later this month, of The European Library.

> Jean-Noël Jeanneney, Quand Google défie 
> l'Europe, Le Monde, January 23, 2005. 
> http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36-395266,0.html
>  English translation by Jack Kessler: Google 
> defies Europe 
> https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/1675.html
> 
> 

[If needed a definition of the acronym SPARC is
below.]

Look for "Google Scholar and Google Print continue
to make news" in the following ...

http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/03-02-05.htm

[SPARC®, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic
Resources Coalition, is an alliance of
universities, research libraries, and
organizations. The coalition was an initiative of
the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)
started in 1997 to be a constructive response to
market dysfunctions in the scholarly communication
system. These dysfunctions have reduced
dissemination of scholarship and crippled
libraries. SPARC serves as a catalyst for action,
helping to create systems that expand information
dissemination and use in a networked digital
environment while responding to the needs of
academe. Leading academic organizations have
endorsed SPARC.]

- Bill



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