Google And The Libraries

[remonit1405241472 0]

google will digitize 7 libraries. What think of this initiative? Think that that will sign the death of the library, of seeing sale of book, or think, that this initiative will make it possible to sell more book?

[OpaQue 15]

ADVANTAGES :Making it digital is going to effect the sale. More people can purchase it and also since they are digital it will also mean, reduced price ( If they are paid ones )If they are free, then it will be a GIFT for the internet. DISADVANTAGES :If the liabraries are going to be paid ones, then.. I smell piracy.. Because as content is digitalised.. it is obvious that people are going to spread it or share it using P2P.

[sottm 0]

It's not good. Deth of Library

[Soleq 0]

Amazon has already done something similar. However, they only allow you to view a certain number of pages. It's extremely helpful if you're looking for a particular passage in a book, but can't remember what page it's on. I believe that is what Google's service is trying to accomplish. Sure, it would be nice to have a whole library of full books available over the net, but I just don't see profitability from this. Think about it, how many people would actually prefer to sit starting at a screen to read a full length book? Not very many if you ask me. Even PDAs are a pain to read, and would probably charge a small fee to transfer it over, much like the eBook system.Of course, all of this is academic, because the library system is already dead. It was killed long ago by the likes of Borders and Barnes & Noble. Oh, and the major spending cuts.

[Dizasta 0]

I think its a great idea. If they hadn't done it, I would have tried to do it. Think of the many times you are researching stuff and you don't have the time to read a 1650-page prose to find the one-last quote to seal-off your argument because there is no index at the back of a biography. With this you can search for it (if you know how to write good search queries)Think about the many times you would have preferred to compare a circuit design on page 224 of the Circuit Bible with the ones on page 650 and 821.Now (depending on the size of the diagrams and the size of your screen or screens) you can open three windows and look at all the diagrams at the same time. Its very convenientThink about how it would be easier for people who could not afford/obtain books because they are too expensive or unavailable in their geographic location to get access to the info.Of course I think they would have to make doubly sure that their security system is tight to prevent undue piracy.

[ouachiski 0]

Most university libraries allready have some books digitized through pay services that they subscribe to. I have tried to use this before, but it is very dificult to read for long periods of time of of a CRT. Even My personal one here at the house will start to hurt your eyes after a while, and it is a very good quality CRT. LCD monitors do help but it is still un comfortable. The paperless ofice never developed because people cant sit infront of a computer and read long pasages. Paper is just easier on the eyes. That is why you dont see more e-books today. I believe that if someone would make a reasonably priced, light weight, and easy to read document reader with enough memory to hold a couple of books, magazines, and a newspaper that this e-books would take off at an astonishing rate.

[Soleq 0]

Agreed. Most people just can't sit at a screen, even an LCD, and read a book for hours. And then there's the ever-present problem of reading at a stationary location. I prefer to take my book around where ever I go, which, I can't do with my 19" CRT. I tried the PDA fad, twice, and both times ended up giving it up because I just couldn't deal with the small screen. However, I've tried the new tablet PCs, and I'm impressed by what I see. This is the next wave, in my opinion, of what's going to be hot in business. The tablets out now are a little premature, but think about it, in a year or so you'll be able to take around a small tablet about 6x8", probably about an inch thick, and voila, instant PC/PDA/book/magazine/other. I want one now.

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

The other issues for ebook readers are cost and format wars. In terms of cost, ebook readers are still terribly expensive, considering paper books are 5-20 dollars for most 'popular' stuff.On top of that, ebooks have layers of DRM on them because of chickenshit publishers. So, an ebook I download only will play on my particular ebook reader, but not also my friends or my laptop. compare this with a paper book that I can loan to anyone.So, ebooks are still more expensive, and less usefull, than paper books. Its no wonder they don't take off. When the DRM is gone, or so close to gone that nobody notices it, and ebook readers with great battery life come out (like 8 hours), at a cost of no more than 50 dollars, then I think we will see them take off. Oh, and they should all have the same format(or ebook readers support all formats equally well thereby making format irrelevant). Format wars are stupid and annoying for consumers.

[musichere 0]

Digitalising is always a good thing, because it gives more choice, and choice gives people hapiness. Google has always been a revolutioniser and so far it has had a great deal fo success. Lots of out of copyright books are just collecting dust in pubilic libraries and there is a lot of potential on the internet for it to reach new audiences.Apart from that of course, every day as a whole the population is getting lazier and this will mean one less thing you have to get up to do.

[dissipate 0]

same here, i prefer paper books.. books that i can take around with me with pages to turn. i don't want to have to worry about the battery life of my gadget while i'm reading a book. the only time when i'd want to use an ebook is if i need to search through for specific words or phrases.

[liknus 0]

I think that digitaliziation of libraries will not fail as it will promote the knowledge and make it easier to access more info. On the other side there is no reason for closing the libraries.How about digitalizing the Pope's Library .I think that there are the greatest treasures of humanity !!!GOOGLE digitalize the Vatican library NOW !!!

[thatguycalledrob 0]

If a library can offer free reading to the public, why not a digital one? And why not fill a digital library with ads? Just as these great forums offer free hosting to us at the cost of participating in highly active forums with ads. So also, google offers lots of services for free - to the end user. And, expensive advertising. Like, War of the Worlds is even better with World War II memorbilia.

[Dyth 0]

As long as the library is accessible and not pay-only. But I love the idea! :-)Look at the Gutenberg Project!

[kaputnik 0]

ADVANTAGES :

 

Making it digital is going to effect the sale. More people can purchase it and also since they are digital it will also mean, reduced price ( If they are paid ones )

If they are free, then it will be a GIFT for the internet.

 

DISADVANTAGES :

If the liabraries are going to be paid ones, then..

I smell piracy.. Because as content is digitalised.. it is obvious that people are going to spread it or share it using P2P.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I used to work with a Document Management Solutions Company called eDocuMAN... we used to use a platform called ZyLAB (Even Microsoft's Legal department uses it since its the primere DMS software out there).

 

Should Google be using a similar software, all the books will be scanned and stored page wise as images. these images when requested over the internet will then be converted to low res, non savable (where copyrighted) images and transmitted to individual browsers. As with all libraries, you have to be a member to use the services, but there is no one to stop you from borrowing a book (copyrighted or not) and reading, taking notes from and even making a photo copy or two (people will still do this online).

 

With an online library, there will be no charges towards maintaining a physical library, a single cpy of a book may be purchased under a library lisence, the book will be scanned and will become searchable and available for viewing, page wise or book wise to multiple users. The cost of the process (as in Google's case) will be supported by relavant advertising places as per searches or keywords.

 

I believe information should be free for the uninhibited progress of the people of the world. This will be an oppurtunity for unified TRIZ.

 

R.A.