WASHINGTON, Dec 14: Internet search giant Google announced plans Tuesday to digitize the contents of millions of library books and make them searchable online.
The Silicon Valley firm said it was working with the libraries of Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, and the University of Oxford as well as the New York Public Library.
The books from those collections will be scanned digitally so that users world wide can search them in Google. "Even before we started Google, we dreamed of making the incredible breadth of information that librarians so lovingly organize searchable online," said Larry Page, Google co-founder.
"Today we're pleased to announce this program to digitize the collections of these amazing libraries so that every Google user can search them instantly." The project is an extension of an existing Google Print program, which allows users to search contents of newly published books.
The new program will make it possible to search across library collections including out of print books and titles that weren't previously available anywhere but on a library shelf, Google said.
"Google's mission is to organize the world's information, and we're excited to be working with libraries to help make this mission a reality," Page said. -AFP
