Adieu to Google Answers, from the Google Blog Later this week, we will stop accepting new questions in Google Answers… Though it does not say why. I first learned about this from a student who is a Google Answerer, who forwarded an email announcement from Google that he received to me. In it was this: We considered many factors in reaching this difficult decision, and ultimately decided that the Answers.. Read More
Yet another article on Google Book Search
Search Me?, from the WaPo But it’s a good & thoughtful article & worth reading, even though it’s one of about a brazillion now on the subject. But for my money, this is the most interesting part: After the university digitized its card catalogue… use of the collection jumped 50 percent — simply because books were easier to find. The university here is Stanford. It’s refreshing to see some actual.. Read More
Google bei Gericht
Google Wins in Germany, from the Chronicle A German court has handed Google’s controversial book-scanning project a significant victory, encouraging a publishing company to drop its efforts to file a preliminary injunction against the search juggernaut. Legal victory for Google in library project, from the Guardian Google argued before the Hamburg court that the display of short snippets from in-copyright books does not infringe German copyright law. The copyright chamber.. Read More
Microsoft Scholar just doesn’t portmanteau as well as Schoogle
Challenging Google, Microsoft Unveils a Search Tool for Online Scholarly Articles, from the Chronicle Microsoft is introducing a new search tool today that will help people find scholarly articles online. … The new free search tool, which should work on most browsers, is called Windows Live Academic Search. For now, it includes eight million articles from only a few disciplines — computer science, electrical engineering, and physics. … Among the.. Read More
Google gets a War Room
Google Wages Fresh Campaign Against Critics of Project to Digitize Library Books, from the Chronicle …an announcement this month by Google that it was starting a campaign to dispel misperceptions about the project. …Google officials said they were creating a “fact-checking brigade” about the company’s digitization effort. I know it’s verging on politically incorrect to say this these days, but I’m entirely on Google’s side on this issue. Why? Because.. Read More
New journals on the scene
I saw 2 announcements today for interesting new online journals. Two in one day! A veritable bonanza of online publishing. These look to be worth following. Plagiary Devoted specifically to the scholarly, cross-disciplinary study of plagiary and related behaviors across the disciplines, articles in Plagiary address the issue of fraudulent contributions to disciplinary discourse communities and the potential (and actual) corruption of the professional literature and other genres of discourse.. Read More
Controversial? Depends on who you ask.
An interesting side-by-side comparison of coverage of the same event in two different venues: U. of Michigan President Defends Library’s Role in Controversial Google Scanning Project, from the Chronicle …a speech to scholarly-book publishers …participation in the controversial Google Library Project is “a legal, ethical, and a noble endeavor.” “The Google book project is a remarkable opportunity — and a natural evolution — for a university whose mission is to.. Read More
It could be your data
Feds Seek Google Records in Porn Probe, from the WaPo Google has refused to comply with the subpoena, issued last year, for a broad range of material from its databases, including a request for 1 million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period… Yes, that could be your data. Me, I use Google daily, several times. So do you. All Google searches from a.. Read More
Google/LC World Digital Library
This is all the news the last couple of days: Google Gift to Digital Library, from NY Times $3-Million Gift From Google Jump-Starts Library of Congress’s Digital Cultural Archive, from the Chronicle James H. Billington, the librarian of Congress, said the World Digital Library would be modeled after the library’s American Memory Project… I’m extremely gratified that this project is being undertaken by LC, & funded by Google — rather.. Read More
Google Librarian Center
Allison, one of my students in Reference, posted a message to the course discussion list in Blackboard about this, and I’m totally ripping her off for the sake of a blog post. Thanks, Allison! Google is launching what they’re calling the Librarian Center. At present, this consists of 2 areas: A quarterly newsletter for librarians, containing “Google tips, news of new features, and other information relevant to you,” and Lesson.. Read More