Francine Fialkoff, Access by Google, Library Journal, January 15, 2005. An editorial. Excerpt: 'Is this initiative a boon or bane for publishers? One of my colleagues suggests the venture may be Google's way of putting pressure on publishers to digitize and make available all of their books online (many publishers are already on board to differing degrees with either new or backlist titles). Online excerpts like Amazon's Search Inside the Book feature have purportedly spurred sales, but it is not clear how putting backlist titles online, titles that account for a huge percentage of revenue, will affect trade book purchases. The impact is even more critical for the already financially strapped academic publishers, who rely on research institutions and scholars for monograph revenues. Another colleague suggests it may be time to buy stock in used book seller Alibris. Librarians can expect to hear more and louder chants of, "Why do we need libraries, anyhow, if everything is online?" The profession has grappled with that one for a long time. LJ's Librarian of the Year, Susan Nutter (on our cover), who has positioned her library at the center of the North Carolina State University campus, says, "I truly believe that you have to listen to [students and faculty] and do what they want….it's their library." Google's new effort only enhances the access librarians can give users, whether they are students or faculty, children or adults.'
Posted by
Peter Suber at 1/15/2005 01:25:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
