google print + harvard library

Posted on by jessamyn

Interesting wrinkle in the Google Print Library project as it’s being worked out at Harvard Library. Publishers think Google needs to ask their permission before it copies their works, even if they’re in the public domain.

“The law does not permit wholesale copying (which is what digitisation is) by a commercial organisation of works that are still in copyright,” she wrote. “It is also illegal to make those works available digitally once they have been copied.”

Morris wrote that Google needs to obtain permission from publishers before using their work. While she wrote that it may be impractical to ask every publisher, Google should ask permission through collective licensing organizations.

Also interesting, seems that while Google Print actually destroys the books it scans, Google Print Library does not.

Library Journal [sort of] responds to Gorman detractors

Posted on by jessamyn

Does the latest Library Journal editorial regarding the Gorman v Bloggers melee just read like so much celebrity gossip? It mentions that half the emails he received were pseudonymous. I agree that it’s often a good idea to send both critique and compliments under your own name. However, let’s just remember that while Michael Gorman’s views may not “represent the official positions of either ALA or California State University Fresno” as LJ patronizingly reminds us, he’ll still be reading our responses as a person who occupies both of those roles. The Free Range Librarian is also unimpressed.