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Fabian Aguilar

Resistance to Google book deal builds as Google woos Europe - Ars Technica - 0 views

  • Last Friday, the deadline passed for formal comments from parties interested in the Google Book Settlement, but the flow of less-formal comments doesn't seem to have abated.
  • This week, however, the focus has shifted to Europe, where Google has faced opposition from France and Germany that has prompted it to offer some concessions to local publishers.
  • First, we'll follow the action stateside, where Friday's deadline set off a flurry of filings.
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  • The Free Software Foundation was among those that filed an objection, this one focused on licensing issues. Because of the nature of the suit, the settlement focused on copyrighted works, but the works scanned by Google may (now, or in the future) include those covered by the FSF's GNU Free Document License. 
  • "If the Settlement is approved, Google will be authorized to continue to digitize, sell and partially display books without complying with the 'copyleft' and 'share alike' license terms which are essential to the freedom granted by these licenses."
  • But it's not just US copyright law that's being trampled on, according to Consumer Watchdog; the settlement also conflicts with international copyright agreements.
  • The group isn't alone in thinking that; European publishers have been leery of the deal, and action shifted to Brussels this week, where the European Commission has been holding hearings on the settlement.
  • Other Commissioners seem determined to use it as a launching point for a more general attempt to deal with related issues, like the modernization of copyright law to handle digital content and the digitization of works in European libraries
  • According to various reports, two countries (France and Germany) have already decided that they will oppose the deal.
  • Google seems to have come to the hearings well prepared, with some significant concessions to hand to the Commission: books that are out of print in the US but still published in Europe won't be licensed to the Books Rights Registry. The Registry would also pick up two European representatives, one an author, one a publisher.
  • At the same time, the Commissioners note that only one percent of the works in European libraries have been digitized to date, leaving the continent at risk of lagging in an effort that ultimate should improve public access to significant cultural material.
  • One of those consumer interests is undoubtedly privacy, given the potentially personal nature of a person's reading habits.
  • ere, the story jumps back to this side of the Atlantic, where the US' Federal Trade Commission has been hashing out privacy issues with Google
  • Although nothing formal has been decided yet, Google issued a formal privacy policy and FAQ that lays out the privacy protections it affords users of its current book service, and details the features that will be used for book sales if the settlement is approved. Basically, Google will keep personal information in-house, and only share information, such as lists of favorite books, if a user specifically opts in.
  • But, if Google was hoping to keep privacy issues separate from the objections to the book settlement, a coalition of privacy advocates had an unpleasant surprise for it. The ACLU and EFF organized a coalition of authors that have dealt with privacy concerns to file a brief as members of the class of rightsholders involved in the settlement.
  • The gist of the complaint is that the settlement will leave Google in a position where it could track users' reading habits, but does nothing to ensure that it won't. "The Settlement includes no limitations on collection and use of reader information and no privacy standards for retention, modification, deletion or disclosure of that information to third parties or the government," the filing reads.
  • The filing actually was modified in time to reflect Google's privacy policy statement, and it notes that there's nothing binding about these rules; Google can change them at will in the future. Obviously, the coalition would like to see something binding written into the agreement.
  • It's obvious that the concerns about, and outright resistance to, the original settlement have been extensive, and Google is willing to make some significant concessions to try to get the deal to go through. What's less obvious is whether these concessions will be formally made part of the legal settlement and, if so, whether outside parties will have another opportunity to comment on the revisions. The scheduled decision is now less than a month away, but it looks like it's going to be an extremely busy month for everyone involved.
Maggie Verster

Scan Your Books And Search Them On Google - 0 views

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    One of the most useful, if often-overlooked, features of Google Book Search is the ability to enter your own books and create a personal library which you can then search if Google has scanned those books. (And chances are it probably has). If you are trying to find a passage or a factoid you once read but can't remember the book no matter how hard you wrack your brain, the ability to search your personal library can come in handy. Except who wants to enter each book one at a time?
Maggie Verster

101 Google tips, tricks and hacks - 0 views

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    Looking for the ultimate tips for Google searching? You've just found the only guide to Google you need
Maggie Verster

College Students Are Bad at Google [STUDY] - 1 views

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    Students in a two-year ethnographic study referred to Google more than any database when discussing their research habits. But ironically, say the study's authors, they weren't very good at using it.
Maggie Verster

Inside Google Books: Bringing the power of Creative Commons to Google Books - 0 views

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    Today, we're launching an initiative to help authors and publishers discover new audiences for books they've made available for free under Creative Commons (CC) licenses. Rightsholders who want to distribute their CC-licensed books more widely can choose to allow readers around the world to download, use, and share their work via Google Books.
Maggie Verster

South african authors - Google Squared - 0 views

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    Google Squared is a search tool that helps you quickly build a collection of facts from the Web for any topic you specify. For instance: * Facts about your topic are organized as a table of items and attributes (we call them "Squares" for fun). * Customize these Squares to see just the items and attributes you're interested in. * See the websites that served as sources for the information in your Square. * Save and share Squares with others.
Maggie Verster

Learn how to do brilliant searches using google (according to levels) - 0 views

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    Web search can be a remarkable research tool for students - and we've heard from educators that they could use some help to teach better search skills in their classroom. The following Search Education lessons were developed by Google Certified Teachers to help you do just that. The lessons are short, modular and not specific to any discipline so you can mix and match to what best fits the needs of your classroom. Additionally, all lessons come with a companion set of slides (and some with additional resources) to help you guide your in-class discussions.
Maggie Verster

Digital book search isn't limited to Google - 0 views

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    Though Google Book Search has the largest collection of digitally scanned books of its kind, and the initiative has captured a great deal of attention, researchers should keep in mind there are other book-search sites that can help them find rare works as well
Carolynn Bruton

Kathy Schrock's - Google Blooms Taxonomy - 1 views

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    A clickable map for Google Tools supporting Bloom's (revised) taxonomy
Maggie Verster

Massive EU online library looks to compete with Google - 0 views

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    Massive EU online library looks to compete with Google
Maggie Verster

Class Collection of Book Reviews using collaborative google spreadsheets - 0 views

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    As part of a language arts or reading program, students read novels throughout the school year. Some of the novels are assigned, read, and discussed "all class." Others are chosen by the students individually, and they keep individual reading lists. Students may be required to read a certain number per marking period, per school year, and over the summer. Some may be classics; other trade novels, but all contribute to the overall reading and comprehension abilities of the students. This unit can be done as a culminating activity for the school year. Students are asked to choose their two favorite novels from the ones they have read. They write reviews and post them online for students in their own school, in other schools, across the United States, and in other countries to read. The student reviews not only help student readers clarify their own understanding of literature, they also provide a "student-to-student" resource. Other students can choose novels based on opinions of their peers. The students review the novels, write descriptions that will appeal to other readers, and indicate the level of reading difficulty. They do this to help others choose novels suitable for their reading levels.
Maggie Verster

Rethinking research in the Google era - 1 views

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    As the internet replaces library databases as students' primary research option, a new discussion is emerging in academic circles: Is the vast amount of information at students' fingertips changing the way they gather and process information for the better--or for worse?
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