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Google to E-Publish Out-of-Print Books Online

by Terrence O'Brien on November 11, 2008 at 08:42 AM

Google Strikes Deal to Sell Out of Print Books Online
Google Book Search, while an impressive tool, has faced numerous roadblocks and lawsuits that have prevented it from reaching its full potential. Many books that have no existing copyright are available from the search giant's library, as are textbooks from many universities.

Things may finally be turning around for the company, which has a stated goal to index all of the knowledge in the world. Last month, Google settled its long-standing lawsuit with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers for $125 million. Now, Google has struck a deal to offer electronic versions of copyrighted books that are out of print.

This means that the contents of the New York Times Best Seller List still won't be available for free perusal via Google, but many hard-to-find books that have fallen out of print will once again be available for sale.

The landmark deal is still awaiting approval from the courts, but seemingly overnight Google Book Search has gone from a good (if naive) idea, to what Neill Denny (editor of trade publication The Bookseller) called the largest bookstore in the world. [From: New York Times]

Tags: book search, books, BookSearch, e-books, ebooks, google book search, GoogleBookSearch

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