Google Temporarily Halts Library Project.

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Google has announced that it will suspend until November its scanning of copyrighted materials in its project to digitize books from the collections of several major research libraries and make them searchable online. Publishers groups have voiced concerns about the effort, with the Association of American Publishers calling in June for a six-month suspension of the project (AL. Aug., p. 15-16).

In an August 11 Google Blog entry, Google Print Product Manager Adam M. Smith said that the suspension came after discussions with "numerous publishers, publishing industry organizations, and authors." Smith said Google will now allow copyright holders to tell the company which books they would prefer not to be scanned if they're found in a library and the moratorium is intended "to allow plenty of time to review these new options." He also announced that publishers can now submit lists of their books that they want automatically added to the Google Print Publisher Program when they're scanned through the library project.

However, Google's moratorium failed to assuage publishers' concerns. Noting that Google plans to digitally copy every title in the participating libraries' collections unless a copyright owner specifically denied permission for a particular work, AAP President Patricia Schroeder said, "Googles procedure shifts the responsibility for preventing infringement to the copyright owner rather that the user, turning every principle of copyright law on its ear."

"Many AAP members have partnered with Google in its Print for Publishers Program, allowing selected titles to be digitized and searchable on a limited basis pursuant to licenses or permission from publishers. We were confident that by working together, Google and publishers could have produced a system that would work for everyone, and regret that Google has decided not to work with us on our alternative proposal," said Schroeder.