The Google Library Project: An Overview of the Google Library Project

The Google Library Project began in 2004 when Google entered agreements with a number of libraries to digitize their collections in the attempt to create a vast, universal library of digitally-accessible books. Similar projects include Project Gutenberg and the Million Book Project.

Referred to by Google as "an enhanced card catalog of the world's books," the Google Library Project was created with the intention of making it easier for people to find relevant books, whether those books are in or out of print. According to the Google website, their "...ultimate goal is to work with publishers and libraries to create a comprehensive, searchable, virtual card catalog of all books in all languages that helps users discover new books and publishers discover new readers." Over ten million books have been digitized, allowing Google users to search and view "snippets" from books, and the Google Library Project is now part of Google Books.

In theory, the Google Library Project is a great idea, giving researchers and others nearly universal access to information, and giving books as much exposure to potential readers as possible. But at its outset, the Google Library Project made a tactical error, sidestepping the critical, legal matter of the authors' and publishers' copyrights: the project digitized copyrighted work without the proper permissions.

As a result, on September 20, 2005, the Author's Guild brought a class action suit against Google (Author's Guild v. Google); on October 19, 2005, five book publishers brought suit against the internet giant, as well (McGraw-Hill v. Google).

While the Google Library Project is ongoing, it has been shadowed by the lawsuits and the resulting, dragged-out Google Books Settlement.