Janice Kennedy writes in the Ottawa Citizen today that, “The Internet behemoth (Google) wants to make the world’s books available online, as part of its lofty self-declared mission ‘to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.’ The world’s authors, on the other hand, think there should be checks and balances on that availability, along with acknowledgement of the books’ creators that is more than token.”
Kennedy writes that, “Maude Barlow, who has written numerous books on issues from free trade to the global water crisis, says she’s opted in with mixed feelings. She is ‘in solidarity with writers who deserve a fair deal for their work,’ she says, particularly as one who has fought against unfair intellectual trade rules in the World Trade Organization. But as an activist, she admits, ‘I also want my work disseminated as far and wide as possible, and I don’t want money to be a hindrance in getting it out.'”
Kennedy adds, “While digitization and online availability are coming, and while Google hopes to scan and digitize 15 million books over the next 10 years, what Google Book Search users get at the moment is limited to works with expired copyrights or, in the case of newer books, snippets, previews and directions to libraries and online book sellers.”
The full article is at http://www.ottawacitizen.com/News/Brave+Google+World/1624931/story.html
