Outline of functions:
 | Search |
 | Browse books online If the book is out of copyright, or the publisher has given us permission, you'll be able to see a preview of the book, and in some cases the entire text. If it's in the public domain, you're free to download a PDF copy. Learn more about the different views. |
 | Learn more -- fast We've created reference pages for every book so you can quickly find all kinds of relevant information: book reviews, web references, maps and more. See an example. |
 | Buy the book ... or borrow it from the library If you find a book you like, click on the "Buy this book" and "Borrow this book" links to see where you can buy or borrow it. |
 | Where do the books come from? Currently, we are connecting readers with books in two ways: the Partner Program and the Library Project. |
Looking closer at the site I have used this service many times. I was thinking about just covering the scanning of the books, which has been a hot topic lately. To me the most frustrating is finding the right book at your local library. Google Books is the search engine for the world's library. This tool helps to find books on the topic I'm interested in and where I can find them. It also allows me to review the materail and how it is rated by other users. These ratings helps to identufy quality material with little effort, a function that alot of our Web2.0 technologies have had. I have used this tool as my main library search tool and either took the book out from a local library or requessted it from interlibrary loan. If you haven't used inter library loan yet I highly suggest it, this servive greatly expands what is availibale to you. Nothing like receiving books from around the country at your own library.
3 comments:
Andrew, do you mean that you first search the book on Google Book Search and then try to borrow them from a real library? I can see the reason behind doing that. What is the controvercy you mentioned?
Looks like a very convenient way to find a book... I'm wondering if copyright laws severely limit the repertoire of books available to Google and other on-line book searches.
Yes, I'm a big fan of inter-library loans- I use them all the time, and have even "borrowed" textbooks that way (just a few "renewals", and I save the price of a text. Can't wait to learn how to do a similar function with google... good topic.
Ellen, from what I know I think currently Google is striving to have access for the 'copyright' books. However, it's good enough to know that Google make possible for us to access all the books that are already in public domain (which usually are old books that have expired copyright.)
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