Google announces Google Print books

Google Print Unveils Collection of Public Domain Books from Libraries at University of Michigan, Harvard, Stanford, and the New York Public Library, a press release from Google, dated yesterday. Excerpt:

Today, Google Inc. announced the availability of the first large collection of public domain books on Google Print. This collection, scanned as part of the company's book digitization project with several of the world's largest libraries, includes works such as U.S. Civil War history books, government documents, the writings of Henry James and other materials. Because they're out of copyright, these cultural artifacts can be read in their entirety online at http://print.google.com, where anyone can search and browse every page. They are fully searchable and users can save individual page images. "Today we welcome the world to our library," said Mary Sue Coleman, President of the University of Michigan . "As educators we are inspired by the possibility of sharing these important works with people around the globe. Think of the doors it will open for students; geographical distance will no longer hamper research. Anyone with an Internet connection can search the text of and read the compelling narratives, historical accounts and classic works offered today, and in doing so access a world of ideas, knowledge and discovery." Examples of the public domain books available on Google Print today include: [1] Civil War regimental histories and early American writings from the University of Michigan, [2] Congressional acts and other government documents from Stanford, [3] The works of Henry James from Harvard, [4] Biographies of New York citizens and other collected biographies from the New York Public Library. More information and images of pages from these materials can be found on the Google Blog. These works however are just a small fraction of the information that will eventually be made available as a result of Google Print.