Google Library

I'm highly interested in Google's Library Project, though I've never understood the fuss--either "pro" or "con." The Google Library will have snippets from all books in three world-class libraries (and the UM Grad library is world-class; I used to wander its stacks for hours, just marveling at the spines). I'm not sure why anyone would want to see a snippet, unless he might buy the entire book. And if it might prompt people to buy the entire book, why would an author care?

But the Washington Times ran an op-ed this morning, written jointly by a conservative and a liberal, that raises a few good points, though, overall, their concerns seem overblown:

Internet behemoth Google, plans to launch their Library project in November. It plans to scan the entire contents of the Stanford, Harvard and University of Michigan libraries and make what it calls "snippets" of the works available online, for free.

The creators and owners of these copyrighted works will not be compensated, nor has Google defined what a "snippet" is: a paragraph? A page? A chapter? A whole book? Meanwhile Google will gain a huge new revenue stream by selling ad space on library search results. Selling ads on its search engine is how Google makes 99 percent of its billions.

Not only is Google trying to rewrite copyright law, it is also crushing creativity. If publishers and authors have to spend all their time policing Google for works they have already written, it is hard to create more. Our laws say if you wish to copy someone's work, you must get their permission. Google wants to trash that.