Google Unveils a Search Engine Focused on Scholarly Materials

By JEFFREY R. YOUNG

In a move that some scholars see as a boon for research and others say could help make libraries obsolete, Google has unveiled a search engine that focuses on academic materials.

The new tool, called Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com), is a version of the company's popular search service. The new search engine limits its results to "scholarly literature such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts, and technical reports," according to a company statement.