Pivot Point in Debate Over Google Book Scans

The contentious debate over the proposed settlement of a class-action suit between Google Books and some authors may have reached an intellectual turning point. A rigorous, thoughtful article about the case by Tim Barton from the Oxford University Press published in the Chronicle of Higher Education yesterday provides a potential synthesis where the opposing parties may find common ground.

This is significant because a lot is riding on how this case turns out — it would not be an exaggeration to say that the future of the book publishing industry may well hang in the balance, but that’s only part of the story. Google’s ambitious effort to scan millions of out-of-print books and make them available and searchable online is the only credible option for bringing some 75 years of dead intellectual history (paper books) back to life in the 21st century.

Barton makes this point convincingly by noting that in a “recent essay assignment for a Columbia University classics class, 70 percent of the undergraduates had cited a book published in 1900, even though it had not been on any reading list and had long been overlooked in the world of classics scholarship. .”

The reason? The entire book was available on Google Book Search.

Barton draws the logical conclusion: “What once seemed at least debatable has now become irrefutable: If it’s not online, it’s invisible.”

Opponents of the settlement probably agree with this statement, and that is why they have so vigorously opposed the terms that would give Google a virtual monopoly over out-of-print works, particularly those “orphan works,” i.e., those for whom no authors can be found, and therefore no intellectual property ownership can be established.

In his article, Barton demonstrates that while the proposed settlement is “imperfect” and “should be improved,” it is nevertheless “a remarkable and remarkably ambitious achievement. It provides a means whereby those lost books of the last century can be brought back to life and made searchable, discoverable, and citable. That aim aligns seamlessly with the aims of a university press. It is good for readers, authors, and publishers — and, yes, for Google.”

While urging the various parties to the settlement, which include publishers, authors and librarians to improve certain terms, Barton concludes: “If it fails, the majority of lost books will be unlikely ever to see the light of day, which would constitute an enormous setback for scholarly communication and education.”

Finally, in an endorsement that should move this long-stalled debate forward, Barton finishes with this: ” So we at Oxford University Press support the settlement, even as we recognize its imperfections and want it made better. As Voltaire said, “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien,” the perfect is the enemy of the good. Let us not waste an opportunity to create so much good.

Touche!

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Dear reader, here is a set of links to earlier coverage of this case:

Mar. 5 Writers, Sign Up for your Check from Google Books!
“Whatever published authors may think about Google’s ambitious plan to digitize more or less every book ever published, the company’s recent settlement of a class-action lawsuit with publishers and authors creates a potential new revenue stream, albeit a small one, for us that I believe is worth pursuing…”
April 17 Time to Slow Down that Google Book Search Deal
“As the proposed settlement by Google of a class-action lawsuit by authors over its Google Book Search rushes toward an impending judicial resolution, it’s become apparent that it’s time to pull the emergency brake on this one…”
April 28 Momentum Shifts Against Google in Old Books Controversy
“A number of new developments in the proposed settlement of a class action suit between Google and some authors over who will control the publishing rights of millions of out-of-print books indicate that the growing opposition to the terms of that settlement are gaining momentum…”
June 18 Google Positions Itself to Profit from Scanned Books
“The debate rages on over the proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit between Google and some authors over the effort by the search giant to scan and sell out-of-print books and other print publications (including magazines)…”