Kati Villavicencio

CMMNA400, Dr. Myers

October 18, 2009
Take Home Quiz #2
Universal Library Cards are Now Available Online…Kind Of
Libraries, in my opinion, are commonly regarded as massive old buildings filled
with an overwhelming amount of stuffy books, complex articles, and diverse magazines
to name a few. I will admit that these public institutions have improved technologically,
with high tech computers featuring the latest software and well-informed staff ready to
help with research or technical issues. Yet they still seem to offer a lot more hassle then
they do help. Being that books are physical objects, they are prone to being lost,
destroyed, or accidently filed in the wrong section in this labyrinth of books. We may be
able to find the book in a bookstore, if it is still being sold, but this costs a lot more
money then simply renting a book. Most importantly, our current generation is much
more likely to sit at home on their computers to conduct the majority of their research
rather than actually physically leave their home. People do not want to be bothered with
the trouble of renting a book or dealing with library cards, libraries, or even keeping their
voices to a low whisper. This day and age has become the era of do it yourself, finding
ways to use accomplish things without having other people stand in our way. In short,
Wikipedia browsing would seem the wiser choice than a big stuffy building full of books
we would have to actually read.
That’s where Google steps in. The well-known search engine came up with the
idea of an online Library in 2004, now known as Google Books. This section of Google,
alongside other links such as “finance”, “blogs” and “groups” is full of an innumerable
amount of scanned texts available to the public. The original idea was to “scan every
book ever published, and to make the full texts searchable, in the same way that Web
sites can be searched on the company’s engine at google.com” explained Jeffrey Toobin,
a columnist for The New Yorker and a senior analyst for CNN (Toobin, 2007).
While Google still intends to scan as many books as possible the accessibility of
the texts, where Google has gotten itself caught up in a copyright infringement dilemma,
is not completely public. One can search the website by simply typing in certain
keywords, authors or direct quotes, yet many of the books are accessible loaded in limited
preview, leaving certain chapters and pages unavailable. The purpose of this is to allow
more awareness of each book published every year, given that there are at least seventy-
five thousand new books published each year. Using the internet as a tool to searching for
exactly what the customer needs or wants allows for a greater opportunity for the authors
and publishers to market their work as well as giving the customer for options and better
sources. Also, the books are surrounded by advertisements for places where the books
can be purchased, whether on a website like Amazon or at a bookstore.
Unfortunately, however, everything isn’t all fine and dandy. Many are arguing about
whether the search engine should charge the public to access the books in the first place.
As of right now, although many are with limited access, the books are free to anyone and
everyone. To our relief, the companies that are suing Google seem to have an
understanding and a common goal for the project and hope to come to a settlement, not
just drop the whole idea for good. As stated by Sergey Brin, the co-founder and
technology president of Google, “This agreement aims to make millions of out-of-print
but in-copyright books available either for a fee or for free with ad support, with the
majority of the revenue flowing back to the rights holders, be they authors or publishers”
(Brin, 2009). Even James Grimmelmann, an Associate Professor at New York Law
School and a member of its Institute for Information Law and Policy lists the many
positives of the project, concluding that with a few tweaks in the proposal it will have
“serious benefits, and the settlement is a universal win compared with the status quo”
(2009, Grimmelmann).

As for the future of existing libraries and academic scholarship function at

universities such as Loyola University, it will change drastically for the better. With
textbooks being available online, students will be able to either purchase the books at a
online much lower price than they do now or download them for free. Teachers will be
able to update their books each year, avoiding students ordering wrong volumes,
shipment backordering or teaching outdated information. Additionally, the library itself
could be used for other purposes, whether it be filled with more graphic design computers
or art gallery space. It won’t need to hold as many academic journals and reference books
because they will all be digitalized. Students will find it easier to study and research
topics by being able to use keywords, quotes, or subjects to find the exact information
they need. Having these books online will also be incredibly useful if there were to be a
flood or hurricane, especially in New Orleans, allowing for blackboard classes to
continue without confusion or issues do to lost books or reference tools.
Altogether, the benefits of Google Book Search as well as other companies that
will follow are endless. The Internet has an unlimited amount of space that will open up a
world of literature that was not as widely and easily accessible as before.
 Works Cited
Brin, Sergey. (2009, October 9). A library to last forever. Editorials (1). Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/opinion/09brin.html ?partner=rss&emc=rss
Grimmelmann, James. (2009, April). How to fix the Google book search
settlement.Journal of Internet Law, 12 (10), 12. Retrieved from
http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1022&context=james_grimmelmann
Toobin, Jeffrey. (2007, February 5). Google’s moon shot. Annals of Law, (1). Retrieved
from http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/ 02/05/070205fa_ fact_toobin