Google Books

Google Books As a Resource for Persons with Mobility Impairment

Google Books wants to “digitize millions of books and make every sentence searchable” (Carlson). There is a lot of controversy over whether or not “Google's project exceeded the bounds of fair use” (Howard) in terms of copyright. However, Google’s Library Project can make information more accessible to the public. Google cannot give full access to the books because of copyright laws, but in making the books searchable and offering previews of pages, Google will be giving the public access to information that is not readily available otherwise, including full-text digitalized versions of material within the public domain.

The information that Google Books is providing to the public can help users of all abilities get the information they need before making a trip to the local library or even before purchasing a book. This can be especially helpful to disabled library patrons who have impaired mobility. They can save time and energy by using Google Books to search for the book or information they are looking for in advance. Being prepared with the information will make their trip to the library easier because they will know that the book will provide them with the information they need.

Works Cited

Carlson, Scott, and Jeffrey R. Young. “Google Will Digitize and Search Millions of Books from 5 Top Research Libraries.” Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 51, no. 18, Jan. 2005. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ773398&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Howard, Jennifer. “Scholars Are Wary of Deal on Google’s Book Search.” Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 55, no. 36, May 2009. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ846676&site=ehost-live&scope=site.