Editorial - Google’s Big Plan for Books - NYTimes.com

Editorial - Google’s Big Plan for Books - NYTimes.com: "Google’s book service raises monopoly and privacy concerns. It also holds great promise for increasing access to knowledge. Much of the information in the world’s books is not widely available. When Google began scanning out-of-print books held by major libraries its goal was to create an enormous database that Internet users could access from local libraries or homes.

Google fumbled, however, by scanning copyrighted works without the rights holders’ permission. Writers and publishers sued, and the parties have now reached a settlement. A federal court in New York has scheduled a hearing this fall on the settlement, which could be hotly contested."