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Stanford Google Library Project: FAQ
Stanford University is collaborating with
Google Inc. on an ambitious plan to digitize large numbers of books
from the Stanford University Libraries' collections. This
project marks a significant contribution toward our vision of a
digitized library that will provide scholars at Stanford and beyond
with unprecedented access to scholarly information.
SULAIR staff are working closely with Google staff on the many operational
aspects of the mass digitization project. Under active operation
and continuous refinement are book move logistics, data management
for volumes moving through the process, physical handling guidelines,
and other tasks related to proper control of Stanford's collections.
Close attention to copyright laws is embedded in all aspects of the
project.
Why is Stanford pursuing this project?
This project directly contributes to the Stanford University Libraries
and Academic Information Resources' (SULAIR) mission of supporting
research and learning at Stanford and beyond by providing substantially
enhanced access to our collections. In addition, SULAIR
will gain expertise with handling truly large amounts of digital
material and will be able to develop tools for adding features
to the complete files that Google will make available to us as
a result of this project.
This project was approved by the Board of Trustees at Stanford University,
and has the enthusiastic support of the university administration.
What do Stanford and Google each bring to the project?
Stanford is providing access to books from our collection
of over 8 million volumes. Google brings expertise in
digitizing and search technology. In addition, Google
will bear the direct costs of the digitizing.
Who is doing the digitizing? Where it it being done?
Google will provide the staff necessary to digitize the books selected. The scanning will take place at Google's Mountain View headquarters.
How will patrons be impacted while books are being digitized
SULAIR staff are committed to continuing to provide excellent
service and access to our patrons, and we are implementing procedures
that will minimize the impact of this project. We expect that the
average length of time a book will be unavailable during the digitization
process will be less than one month.
How many books will Stanford digitize? How will they be selected?
The agreement with Google is open-ended; it neither targets specific
collections nor specifies a minimum or maximum number of books
to be digitized. Stanford is working closely with Google
to continually refine our production
schedule. We anticipate working with Google over a period of years
and with
potentially millions of titles.
SULAIR senior staff are developing a plan
for targeting collections for digitization. The plan will include
consideration of many factors, including the current physical location
of the collection, the percent of a collection that is out of copyright,
the relationship to other ongoing collection relocation projects,
and any special publisher interests or permissions that might apply.
What about fragile or brittle books?
SULAIR staff are applying their expert judgment to deciding if
a book is physically suitable for scanning. While our goal is to
digitize
as many items as possible, books that might be damaged in the process
are not being digitized.
What happens to the physical books once they are digitized?
Because we recognize the enduring value of physical books, SULAIR has every intention of keeping the physical copies of every book that is digitized.
What about copyright issues?
Both Stanford and Google are committed to respecting the rights
of publishers and copyright holders. In every aspect of this
project, careful attention will be paid to the protection of
copyrighted materials.
When will Stanford materials appear in Google Books?
Many items from Stanford’s collections are now available through
Google Book Search (http://books.google.com). The available items include
many U.S. Congressional Hearings. To see samples of items from Stanford’s
government documents collections, try searching on terms such as “National
Flood Insurance”, “Artic National Wildlife Refuge”, or “Food
Stamp Act ”.
Will books scanned at Stanford be available to the general public? In what format?
Materials that are clearly in the public domain (mostly materials with
publication dates of 1922 or earlier) will be available to
the general public through Google. All users should be able
to view the full text of
public domain materials online. This will be part of "Google Book Search";
see http://books.google.com/ for
more about the services offered.
Google is displaying snippets of copyrighted materials
online in ways that adhere closely to appropriate copyright
protections. Access to digitized content served by Stanford will be restricted
to members
of the Stanford community.
For more information about the Google Library Project, please see:
http://books.google.com/googlebooks/library.html
Who are the contacts for he Stanford Google Library
Project?
For the library professional community: Michael A. Keller, University Librarian and Director of Academic Information Resources.
For the press and public: Alan Acosta, Associate Vice President, and Director, University Communications.
Last modified:
January 18, 2006 |
