I have not been following the details too closely.<br><br>However, there are many concerns that I have seen voiced:<br><br>1. Will users of the online book search enjoy the privacy that paper version borrowers have from regular libraries?<br>
<br>2. Will there be a competitor to Google so that pricing would not be prohibitive for academics and other users?<br><br>3. Will Google have an unimpeded license out of print "orphaned" books (those that have no clear owner)?<br>
<br>4. There has been talk about them seeking a court ruling that would allow them access to orphaned work, and thus co-opting other processes that would limit/prevent their access.<br><br>Here are some links from Slashdot where this has been a recurring theme.<br>
<br><a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/06/02/26/077227.shtml">http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/06/02/26/077227.shtml</a><br><br><a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/12/19/2028228/Library-Groups-Ask-DOJ-To-Oversee-Google-Books">http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/12/19/2028228/Library-Groups-Ask-DOJ-To-Oversee-Google-Books</a><br>
<br><a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/08/31/064225/Librarians-Express-Concern-Over-Google-Books">http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/08/31/064225/Librarians-Express-Concern-Over-Google-Books</a><br><br><a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/09/19/1928245/DoJ-Recommends-NY-Court-Reject-Google-Book-Deal">http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/09/19/1928245/DoJ-Recommends-NY-Court-Reject-Google-Book-Deal</a><br>
<br><a href="http://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/07/2046243/Google-Books-As-Train-Wreck-For-Scholars">http://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/07/2046243/Google-Books-As-Train-Wreck-For-Scholars</a><br><br><a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/story/08/10/28/145249/125-Million-Settlement-In-Authors-Guild-v-Google">http://yro.slashdot.org/story/08/10/28/145249/125-Million-Settlement-In-Authors-Guild-v-Google</a><br>
<br><a href="http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/31/1719204&tid=14">http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/31/1719204&tid=14</a><br><br><a href="http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/08/19/0039254/Opting-Out-of-the-Google-Books-Settlement-Pro-amp-Con">http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/08/19/0039254/Opting-Out-of-the-Google-Books-Settlement-Pro-amp-Con</a><br>
<br><a href="http://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/17/1238226/Google-Buys-reCAPTCHA-For-Better-Book-Scanning">http://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/17/1238226/Google-Buys-reCAPTCHA-For-Better-Book-Scanning</a><br><br><a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/09/07/1545238/The-Copyright-Black-Hole-Swallowing-Our-Culture">http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/09/07/1545238/The-Copyright-Black-Hole-Swallowing-Our-Culture</a><br>
<br><a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/03/1628233">http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/03/1628233</a><br><br clear="all">Perhaps Pamela of groklaw would have one of her useful analysis and summaries on this topic?<br>
-- <br>Khalid M. Baheyeldin<br><a href="http://2bits.com">2bits.com</a>, Inc.<br><a href="http://2bits.com">http://2bits.com</a><br>Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.<br>Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra<br>
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