The University of California—already taking part in the Open Content Alliance scanning project—is the latest academic institution and the largest to sign with controversial Google Book Search. The UC system has more than 34 million books in 100 libraries on 10 campuses but the agreement with the Google Books Library Project only covers a few million. No specifics on terms but Google funds the scanning while the university picks up a fraction of the cost. Some authors and publishers have sued claiming Google is breaching copyright but that won’t keep UC from joining the University of Michigan in allowing copyrighted books to be digitized. The other libraries involved are focusing on out-of-copyright material until the suit is resolved.
Related: Yahoo Backs a Collaborative Book Plan
—Authors Guild Sues Google Over Book Scanning
- UM President Defends Google Book Search To Publishers: “Change Or Die”