The University of Chicago is a member of the Committe on Institutional Cooperation. In July of 2010, the library was set to deliver its first collection to the Google Book Search Project for digitization. The University provides several reasons for its participation in digitizing including; increasing access to e-books and e-journals, enhancing the discovery of University collections, preserving intellectual content contained in print materials, and placing digitized copies of books and journals in joint repositories thus creating the potential for new types of scholarship. The University assures students that Google has experise in search technology and mass digitization. Google will handle the cost of transporting, scanning, and making content available online while the University covers the cost of staff for packaging books and journals. The University stated that it will start with its medical collection since the use of e-books and e-journals is becoming the preferred method of research.
The following link provides information from the University of Chicago on its digitization effort:
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/about/googlebooks.html
Yeah! More digitization. That sounded a little sarcastic, but I assure you it wasn't. Digitization is a great way to preserve (if it's done right), and sharing costs this way is a great way to make the most of a library's slim resources.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see how it turns out.
Side Note: Not so fond of Google search...hope the library gets to catalog for their use, even if Google gets to add to their databases.
That's a good idea to start with the medical collection but I wonder how many of these books are eligible, for licensing reasons, to be digitized. In my experience with electronic medical books, the oldest one are already scanned by Google Books and the newest ones are either offered in digital format already by their publishers or not eligible for reformatting.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting that the library is participating with Google Books. It's a great service! Hopefully, the temporary time when books are unavailable won't be too inconvenient for students. I think that with a lot of the books still under copyright, they can digitize parts of the book, but many of the pages will be missing.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I really like your blog background, it's so springy! :)
I think it is good that they started with the medical books too.
ReplyDeleteMoving with the time. Google is making a name on the market. I hope they don't monopolize the market.
ReplyDeleteShannon, I love Google, but I have the same fear! I wrote about it extensively for a different class!
ReplyDeleteGoogle Books seems to be plowing on ahead. I thought there were a few glitches that slowed them down, but maybe not. The whole copyright issue must still be out there. The concept of having all of these books available online is wonderful - I just hope that is really what happens.
ReplyDeleteI think Google does already have a monopoly on the market!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much they are going to charge for subscriptions once all the books are digitized. WIll the universities who were part of the CIC be "grandfathered" in?
Digitizing all the books seems a tricky area with copyrights!
I agree with Shannon's comment and concern of Google monopolizing the market. One of the major concerns for having an e-journal collection is the possibility of rising prices and reliance on vendors for access and use.
ReplyDeleteI hope there will be a regulating body that is keeping a close eye on Google. That being said, the Cooperation does seem to have amazing benefits for users.
I am curious as well to see how this approach works, and what Google's plans are for the future. With so many issues surrounding Google books it will be interesting to see how they handle this at an institution level. Also, what happens to the materials after they are digitized? Are they returned to the library, or destroyed in the digitization process?
ReplyDeletePart of me is excited to see an important collection digitized to increase accessibility. Part of me is very frightened to see Google taking over something else. I second Jeff's question, too about the books - once digitized what happens to them?
ReplyDeleteI love to see libraries using a consortium to accomplish large goals. All of this digitization is so new I agree with other posts that it can be a little daunting and alarming that Google might be taking over the world (sarcasm applied here). In all seriousness, I am counting the days until someone sets some rules to this issue. Once enough companies realize how much money is to be made, they will be all over it.
ReplyDeleteI love the blog grass - thanks for sharing!
Yes...the whole Google question is a concern. Even the loftiest of altruistic endeavours, has the potential to become corrupted, if not already so. On the other hand, while researching for the annotated bibliography that I did on mindfulness, I discovered "Google Tech Talks" videos. And I get a sense of Google being an idealistic forerunner in progressive ideas for the future of information exchange. Nonetheless, should they decide to opt for the darkside (LOL), they will have the potential to control access to a vast amount of priceless materials.
ReplyDeleteI think digitizing books is a good idea. However, we shouldn't get rid of all the print books just because they are electronic. We also need to make sure copyright rules are still followed.
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