Scan to Search

Simple enough. Google Book Search has a shit ton of scanned books. But you can't look at them. Why? Because it would be a copyright infringement to post anything besides "short excerpts." At least I'm pretty sure that is way. Thing is, I am not going on to Google Book Search in the hopes of reading an entire novel. I am going there to search for a specific word or phrase is a novel. And yes, maybe read a chapter of a critical work or something. Nobody is going to download and print War and Peace (okay not an issue since it doesn't have the same copyright protection, but I'm making a point) because it would cost them more to print it than to buy it. And NO ONE is reading these things online (yet).

I'm suggesting two things here. Book Search is a tool not for reading per se, but for research. First I think libraries should be able to list their catalogue and unlock those books, giving patrons digital access to any book they physically own. One b would be something like libraries should be allowed just to have open access to all books because they are freaking libraries and are probably one of the great goods of humanity and shouldn't be ruled over by greedy publishing companies, but aided by everyone (end diatribe).

The second part has some flaws, but here is the nacisent idea. Individuals should be able to unlock the books they own as well, using something like Mac's iSight camera to scan the barcode. Then that particular book--which you own--becomes searchable from your computer (or Google account). Simple as pie. Of course, the companies would worry about the same thing as the music industry. It is so easy to simply barrow and scan a book and have it forever unlocked. I am willing to do the monolith book industry one better. How about you scan the barcode and only have access to search during that session? That way you would literally have to have the book in front of you to utilize the full function of search. Search is by the way that useful. Even with the book in front of you it can get you to the page you need to be on ever so quickly. It is like an index on speed. So yeah, of course there are always going to be ways to cheat. But the people motivated enough to cheat a system like this are motivated enough to cheap in any other number of ways too. So it ain't worth getting worked up over.

Free Google Book Search for the people!