2008 Woodie Awards
Google books: an alternative source to textbooks
Shane Madden
Issue date: 9/24/07 Section: Features
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As the digital age continues its conquest to make all things electronic; books, literature and scholarly works are no exception as more and more Web sites and Internet databases are created with the intention of providing information that used to be available solely in print. While the purposes of such Web sites may sound harmless, controversy has started over the advantages and disadvantages of "E-books."
Google, for example, did not miss their opportunity to be a part of the E-book trend. Commonly called Google Books, issues have arisen over the site's hosting of pieces of literature or texts that are still under copyright. The E-books that are searchable by Google can not, for the most part, be read in their entirety. The samples that can be viewed and read, however, are still a topic of debate.
Google, perhaps being the most well known site, is not alone in the E-book business. Project Gutenberg, Net Library and various universities across the nation also have searchable E-book databases, all with their own particularities.
Project Gutenberg, established in the early 90s, is more akin to Wikipedia in that volunteer users spend time typing in pieces of literature by hand, according to the project's Web site, consequently affecting the site's reliability as a credible resource.
Net Library is perhaps the most comprehensive and in-depth of the E-book sites. It allows users to see all illustrations and footnotes that any given text might contain as well as make personal notes on the text. Boasting a library of 140,000 E-books, Net Library requires users to join while Project Gutenberg does not.
With this volume of information easily available and without cost, how do E-books fit into the university setting?
They won't spell the end for print, according to West Chester University professor Dr. Eleanor Shevlin, but they can be an added resource or second option for students and teachers alike.
"When you buy a book, you are paying for the editing," Shevlin said in regard to the forewords, footnotes and bibliographies that are often provided in an actual text.
Google, for example, did not miss their opportunity to be a part of the E-book trend. Commonly called Google Books, issues have arisen over the site's hosting of pieces of literature or texts that are still under copyright. The E-books that are searchable by Google can not, for the most part, be read in their entirety. The samples that can be viewed and read, however, are still a topic of debate.
Google, perhaps being the most well known site, is not alone in the E-book business. Project Gutenberg, Net Library and various universities across the nation also have searchable E-book databases, all with their own particularities.
Project Gutenberg, established in the early 90s, is more akin to Wikipedia in that volunteer users spend time typing in pieces of literature by hand, according to the project's Web site, consequently affecting the site's reliability as a credible resource.
Net Library is perhaps the most comprehensive and in-depth of the E-book sites. It allows users to see all illustrations and footnotes that any given text might contain as well as make personal notes on the text. Boasting a library of 140,000 E-books, Net Library requires users to join while Project Gutenberg does not.
With this volume of information easily available and without cost, how do E-books fit into the university setting?
They won't spell the end for print, according to West Chester University professor Dr. Eleanor Shevlin, but they can be an added resource or second option for students and teachers alike.
"When you buy a book, you are paying for the editing," Shevlin said in regard to the forewords, footnotes and bibliographies that are often provided in an actual text.
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Branko Collin
posted 9/28/07 @ 8:14 PM EST
Contrary to what the article states, Project Gutenberg was founded much earlier than the 1990s. In fact, in 1971 it was the first privately run site on the internet, made possible because founder Michael Hart had friends who worked in the computing center of a university. (Continued…)
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