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[liadnan]

This story's been all over the place today: Google to digitise largish chunks of five major libraries, including a small but significant proportion of the Bodleian. And try as I may, my inner cynic is unable to repress my enthusiasm. Absolutely fantastic step forward.

Amusingly, but quite sensibly, next month should see the launch of the BL's archive of British websites. Round and round we go.

Comments

[nikandra.livejournal.com]

I hadn't seen that, and it's just such a brilliant idea. And about time!

[liadnan]

What I really think the world's major libraries should be working on as well is a joint integrated on-line catalogue, including a cross-referenced citations index (I know google got Google Scholar going too though).

what I would really love

[nikandra.livejournal.com]

to see is not just a joint integrated online catalogue that will be free and open to all users, but also digital copies of everything that is out of print (even if it's under copyright) that would be open through university or research insitute libraries to scholars. Also, of doctoral theses that people know of from citations but can't have any access to them (unless they have the ability to go to the university where they were submitted).

In other words, I want all the books/journals of the world to be online and searchable someday. :) Not that I believe that feasible (but I'm so frustrated at coming across references to books I can't access).

I haven't used Google Scholar yet. Is it good?

Re: what I would really love

[liadnan]

Well, the latter is going to take a very long time to do, and huge amounts of money and/or volunteers.
I haven't had occasion to use Google Scholar myself, I merely know it exists.

Re: what I would really love

[nikandra.livejournal.com]

I know that. I wouldn't necessarily want it to happen in my lifetime. But I would like to know that some day it will happen. At least in the UK there's COPAC, which is a very good on-line catalogue. They have something similar in the States with some universities (I forgot which), but you have to be a member of these unis in order to use the online catalogue.