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January 07, 2008, 03:31 PM ET
Google Plans Searchable Text in Images
InformationWeek reports that Google filed a patent in June 2007 for a technology that could make text in images searchable.
The yet-to-be-developed technology detailed in the patent application carries serious implications for the future of search technology, particularly in regard to the Google Book Search project.
What could that mean for the future of academic research and the role of libraries? In an interview, Wendy P. Lougee, University of Minnesota librarian, frames the would-be technology in the context of “discoverability” — the ease with which an item can be found through a search.
“With respect to images, the challenges have been in the metadata,” or the data that contextualizes items in a database, she says, and the potential technology “could significantly enhance” librarians’ ability to catalogue and retrieve information. —Hurley Goodall
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