WSJ.com - Building an Online Library, One Volume at a Time

As per the post a few days ago on foot soldiers in the scan-wars - an article from the Wall Street Journal on the daze (er...days) in the lives of scanners for the Internet Archive Million Book Project. Read the article for yourself and then ...

1. thank your lucky stars that we can de-spine our projects
2. assume none of us would likely have this equipment is it cost THIS much
3. ask yourself if we come off as being this -- unique -- to our professional peers?
4. know that the Internet Archive* proves - once again - to be the coolest site on the internet! [check out video of the Book Scanning Robot in action]

Now, if we could only figure out a way to easily convert these files to a useable format [at least uesable in our world]. Some are already somewhat accessible in that the text comes in a variety of flavors [see FAQ page and randomly check a book for yourself]. Those that have .rtf /.tif files are candidates for access but such availability seems almost random. Hopefully one of our members can take the time to explore further and make sense of the system.

Keep in mind that this is not the same as the Google Print Project. Google's unrelated book-scanning efforts have come under fire because some publishers and authors say the search giant is violating copyright law. But the Open Content Alliance has sidestepped legal troubles by focusing on books published before 1923--and therefore out of copyright in the U.S.--as well as some newer books publishers have allowed it to scan. [University Business Magazine]

Could this and other articles be the start of making our profession (part of it anyway) cool to the masses? Doubtful - but how often do you read something in the WSJ that you can actually relate to on a personal level?

*If you have not already done so go immediately to the Live Music Archive [you can thank me later].