[Publib] A further signpost on the road to our oblivion (Live Search Books)

[Joe Schallan]

Microsoft has released the beta of Live Search Books,
its competitor to Google Book Search.  Find it at

http://books.live.com

In contrast to Google's effort, it will initially focus on
out-of-copyright materials only (or those copyrighted
works for which permission has been obtained).

The Cnet article on Live Search Books may be
viewed at

http://tinyurl.com/y78dqy

When you search Live Search Books, your
search words appear highlighted in the pdf
images of the book pages you retrieve.

- - -

It is clear that in the not-too-distant future,
many, if not most, books published prior
to 1923 will be easily retrievable and viewable
on the home desktop.  And I expect the
pressure to join the party will be so great on
authors and publishers that they will arrive
at a modus vivendi with Google and Microsoft
concerning works still in copyright.

Where does that leave us?  The last refuge of
those who want to hold the physical book
(with its still superb human factors) in their
hands?

It does seem that just as we've lost the
answer business to Google and Wikipedia,
we're about to lose the book business to
these digitization efforts.

Book are we in the answers-and-books
business, or in the access-and-explanation
business?

So our future is . . . ?  Our planning should
entail . . . ?  Comments?

-- Joe Schallan
    Phoenix
Who, aside from job security worries, absolutely
rejoices at this kind of access delivered to
readers and researchers in their homes . . .

(And DO play with Live Search Books.  It is
fun.  Right off I can see that the genealogists
are going to have a field day with all the
19th-century county histories and Civil War
regimental histories in there.)