The emergence of Google Book Search is another sign that the world is moving closer to a futuristic paperless reality that may eliminate the need for physical books in favor of clean, efficient digital libraries. Since last summer, the service has been creating a stir in the professional writing and publishing community, causing heated debates between those that believe digital books could rejuvenate a deep love for reading in a technology-obsessed culture and professional writers and publishers that worry services like Google Book Search, which scan copies of books could actually increase piracy much like peer-to-peer music file sharing did in the music industry. They fear library digitization could decrease their revenues along with causing a widespread cheapening of writing as an art form when digital books become too easy to produce, find and consume.
An article published in August, 2009 by Wired detailed a settlement that emphasized complaints from the National Writers Union – a group in support of 1,500 freelance writers. The “deal” was in response to an incident in 2005 that saw Google scanning books illegally and showing snippets to help them make sales and earn more profits. The settlement proposed last August totaled $125 million and stated that Google Book Search would be able to sell out-of-print books and share revenue with even those authors, publishers and rights holders that were not able to be located. A report released in April, 2009 stated that Google had already created digital libraries consisting of over 7 million books, angering the professional writing community.
The Cons of Library Digitization
The truth is, most professional writers have a reverence for books in their physical form. The most hardcore writers are literary aficionados that can describe intricate details about early reading experiences, like the smell of the Second Edition Herman Melville they once touched, or the magical feeling of touring the manuscripts room at the British Museum in London.
Still, digital books present some legal issues for professional writers that make them fear for the future of not only their craft but their careers. A recent blog entry published by Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, featured on the site Techdirt outlined the two biggest concerns of professional writers:
- Digital libraries as large as the one Google Book Search aims to provide give consumers access to almost any work online, and thus …
- Digital libraries present the potential for consumers to copy and paste content to their computer and print out the book.
Fans of a Digital Future See Many Pros to Library Digitization
Hyatt agrees with a lot of proponents of Google Book Search and other digital book initiatives and feels that the professional writing community is panicking unnecessarily. Technology cheerleaders feel that authors and publishers should work with digital initiatives and embrace the potential it gives them to further their careers and reach new audiences. The following are the two pros of digital libraries that Hyatt says are most likely to help rather than hurt professional writers.
- Digital libraries could deliver new audiences directly to writers. Because Google Book Search is powered by the most used search engine on the planet, it has the power to expose people to new books they may not have found by any other method. Those searching Google for specific topics, writing styles and authors would be able to find new, relevant works from professional writers that could become new favorites. These readers may not have ever found these books organically. Those writers that try to exclude themselves from being found by hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or even millions of new readers.
- Digitizing books could help writers get found. Stats show that there are over 500,000 new books published per year. How can a professional writer get noticed in such a saturated community? The Internet and library digitization increases the chance of a writer getting noticed because it provides a searchable index. According to Hyatt, “the biggest problem authors face today is obscurity, not piracy.” Also, because people spent five times more time online than reading physical media, they are more likely to find a book release announced via Google Book Search or other online methods and then have the ability to instantly purchase that book.
Likely the war between professional writers that love the physical book medium and Webpreneurs that want to turn what once was linguistic art into “digital content” will rage on well into the future; but digital books and services like Google Search will continue to change the landscape of publishing and offer new opportunities for writers to gain new readership.
Julia Rogers - Julia Rogers is a freelance writer and musician based in New York City. She writes for a variety of companies and individuals with ...
Join the Conversation