http://blogs.lib.berkeley.edu/shimenawa.php?disp=comments en-US http://backend.userland.com/rss 60 Sun, 02 Nov 2008 08:38:13 +0000 Jim Carlile [Visitor] c75123@http://blogs.lib.berkeley.edu/ The OCLC access in Books is pretty useful as long as you know your zip code-- it gets right to local libraries. Only problem is, what with all the weeding going on, often more obscure works that show up in the OCLC are gone from the local library's catalog, even though OCLC says it's there.<br /> <br /> A problem I have with the settlement -nowhere is it required that Google has to provide free downloads of their PD works. Individual cooperating library agreements require display, but free download is discretionary on Google's part. Will this last? I doubt it....and that 6.3 (b) clause about "public domain" monies still getting collected and delivered for what turns out to be a 'wrongful' book sale is troubling.<br /> <br /> Not much of an incentive for anyone-- Google or the old rights holders-- to care much about the public domain. This clause is going to cause mucho problems, I think.
A problem I have with the settlement -nowhere is it required that Google has to provide free downloads of their PD works. Individual cooperating library agreements require display, but free download is discretionary on Google's part. Will this last? I doubt it....and that 6.3 (b) clause about "public domain" monies still getting collected and delivered for what turns out to be a 'wrongful' book sale is troubling.

Not much of an incentive for anyone-- Google or the old rights holders-- to care much about the public domain. This clause is going to cause mucho problems, I think.]]> http://blogs.lib.berkeley.edu/shimenawa.php/2008/10/31/an-ever-sliding-window-of-access#c75123 Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:43:51 +0000 Jonathan Rochkind [Visitor] c75120@http://blogs.lib.berkeley.edu/ Nice essay, thanks. <br /> <br /> I'd note one more thing I'm troubled by: Google's share of the revenue means it is NOT in Google's interest to provide openurl links back to user's local library catalogs for google books material. Many of these books can be obtained by our users for free from our libraries (many of them were digitized from our catalogs in the first place!). <br /> <br /> We'd like to let our users to easily discover this about a given book (and easily access ILL services, if desired), before deciding to purchase the book. An OpenURL link to our institutional link resolver would do that. <br /> <br /> But it's in Google's interest to have users in fact NOT discover local library availability, and instead choose to purchase the book.<br /> <br /> Interestingly, Google does offer OpenURL links in Google Scholar, I wonder how they decided this was a good idea for them despite their commercial interests. But I don't expect to see it showing up in GBS anytime soon, and wouldn't be surprised to see it dissapear from Scholar. <br /> <br /> Interestingly, Google does provide a link to Worldcat---as a result of a deal made with OCLC. I suppose eventually that might lead the user to her own library, but not very easily for them. There are a number of problems with this user work-flow, I could get into details. So we have OCLC making a deal to trade metadata largely contributed by US (what OCLC offered Google), for access to and visibility on GBS, consisting of text largely digitized from US (what Google offered OCLC)---with our actual individual interests left out of the equation altogether! <br /> <br /> I still wonder if the particular deals libraries made with Google for digitizing books were really in library's long-term best interests. <br /> <br /> Oops, sorry this turned long, I should turn it into my own blog post.
I'd note one more thing I'm troubled by: Google's share of the revenue means it is NOT in Google's interest to provide openurl links back to user's local library catalogs for google books material. Many of these books can be obtained by our users for free from our libraries (many of them were digitized from our catalogs in the first place!).

We'd like to let our users to easily discover this about a given book (and easily access ILL services, if desired), before deciding to purchase the book. An OpenURL link to our institutional link resolver would do that.

But it's in Google's interest to have users in fact NOT discover local library availability, and instead choose to purchase the book.

Interestingly, Google does offer OpenURL links in Google Scholar, I wonder how they decided this was a good idea for them despite their commercial interests. But I don't expect to see it showing up in GBS anytime soon, and wouldn't be surprised to see it dissapear from Scholar.

Interestingly, Google does provide a link to Worldcat---as a result of a deal made with OCLC. I suppose eventually that might lead the user to her own library, but not very easily for them. There are a number of problems with this user work-flow, I could get into details. So we have OCLC making a deal to trade metadata largely contributed by US (what OCLC offered Google), for access to and visibility on GBS, consisting of text largely digitized from US (what Google offered OCLC)---with our actual individual interests left out of the equation altogether!

I still wonder if the particular deals libraries made with Google for digitizing books were really in library's long-term best interests.

Oops, sorry this turned long, I should turn it into my own blog post.]]> http://blogs.lib.berkeley.edu/shimenawa.php/2008/10/31/an-ever-sliding-window-of-access#c75120