Wow how the hell did I miss this? And why was there not more chat about it? The long and the short of it is that one publisher DIANE Publishing has opened their entire list on Google Book Search to the public:
Good news for policymakers, researchers and others looking for key government documents. Recently, DIANE Publishing, which reprints a wide variety of government publications, made all of its titles in Google Book Search 100 percent viewable. While the Partner Program’s default settings limit people to viewing 20 percent of any title, you’re now free to read every page of every DIANE publication in the index.
The rationale is given by Herman Baron, the President of DIANE Publishing, on the post on Inside Google Book Search:
Our mission has always been to carefully select U.S. government reports and publish them to make it easier for readers to access this valuable information. Google Book Search provides a way for us to make these documents available to Google users worldwide. The free flow of government information to a democratic society is utmost in our mind. We’re pleased to offer everything from the U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Policy and Strategy to a 1997 House committee hearing on Protecting the Future of Social Security to this GAO report on deterring the illegal diamond trade.
Now I think this is great news. It was only a matter of time before a publisher made a decision like this. Will it result in more book sales? I guess time will tell. I expect one way or the other to see more publishers following suit over the next while.
Happy and excited by this development
Eoin
Filed under: Books, Bookselling, Business, Future of Books, Future of Publishing, Innovation, Business, Google Book Search, Publishing Companies
[...] I had heard of Google Book Search before from here but the potential coolness didn’t sink in. I will certainly be using Book Search much more in future. I like their feature: “Find this book in a library” although unfortunately, according to Book Search, my nearest library is in New Zealand. Never mind, I have the local library on my doorstep and will be looking for this book there tomorrow! [...]