shimenawa - Latest comments on Book Search as a product

In response to: Book Search as a product

Adam Hodgkin [Visitor] — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:19:02 +0000

In the end Google Book Search may work best as index and as a search tool because it enables us to obtain access to many different reading and writing styles, and to search books in a variety of digital manifestations.

More on why we should not be expecting Google Book Search to be an ideal reading system.
http://exacteditions.blogspot.com/2008/06/is-google-good-for-writers.html

In response to: Book Search as a product

Eoin Purcell [Visitor] — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:14:45 +0000

Interesting thoughts Peter.

I agree with you about not using GBS as a search and find tool. In fact, I'm far more likely to use amazon, LibraryThing or The Book Depository.

I've downloaded the text of a few books I have wanted to read but mostly, the text versions aren't great and you are better of with Gutenberg if you can find them there.

I'm intrigued by your thoughts on the interface that best suits the search.

Now to get thinking about what you have written!
Eoin

In response to: Book Search as a product

Edward Vielmetti [Visitor] — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:52:52 +0000

Google Book Search is best for pre-1922 materials; your example from the 1930s hits the GBS dead zone, where nothing is available full-text or even limited text, and the snippets are just frustrating. It doesn't get better until you reach popular works in print.

For pre-1922, GBS gives you some sense for what is available, but even with that it's nowhere near complete. Finding something there for me generally leads to a next step of figuring out which library has it, so that I can go to their real collection.

This is the best account I know of how GBS changes scholarship:

http://landscape.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-google-books-is-changing-academic.html

if your uses don't match that your experience will be different!