Google: the Evil Empire?

Google is preparing to digitize the known libraries of the world. While this venture seems great above the surface, it still remains to be seen how everything will end. The primary concern for this project is whether the publishers (and subsequently, the writers) will get any monetary compensation for their work. This concern has come to the forefront of this proposed project. In lieu of the publishers and authors, the librarians have already begun an internal war over this issue: debating whether this project will help or hinder the local libraries.
In order to move around the prospect of prosecution for copyright infringement and to appease the naysayer librarians, Google plans on taking their case to the United States Court System. Also, in an effort to begin investigation, the Department of Justice has already looked into this project to see if it will give the consumers a different product to purchase, or if this will become a competitive item to the tangible books already on shelving nationwide.
The only redeeming factor about this situation is that Google’s pursuit for freedom from future prosecution will only become something awarded on the surface. The decision that the US courts give will still have to keep the copyright law intact. The author should have the right to decide whether or not they want to have their work scanned and placed online for all to view or purchase.
This situation is still a bit disconcerting. My fiancé is presently working towards a Graduate degree in Library Science. Supposedly, this field is rapidly growing and in high need for bright, educated librarians. I can’t help but wonder what does this move by Google mean for the librarians of the world? Do these elegant, stylized, buildings become places for people to hook up their USB to a port and download Joyce’s Ulysses? Or does this situation dissipate into another form of hype, making a victory for all the physical book readers of the world.
Personally, I used to own a digital book reader. Even though Google’s efforts are admirable, it doesn’t really bother me too much. I know there are many like me who cannot stand staring at a screen for hours to read when they can take a book to a bathtub and just soak in all the verses more comfortably. Plus, a physical book gives the reader a romance unfound in a Kindle or any other digital reader. So while Google tries to gain some right on putting these books online, Librarians and book lovers alike shouldn’t fret as much as the media. After all, it just means another route of access to get the Hemingway, Fitzgerald, or Steinbeck stories we have come to love and enjoy.

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