When Google announced plans to create a free online library of out-of-copyright books, Jean-Noël Jeanneney, president of the National Library of France, voiced concerns that the project would be dominated by English-language literature and urged European countries to form their own digital archive. Now a German association of booksellers and publishers is planning to do just that.
The proposed archive, called Volltextsuche Online, isn’t fueled by concerns of Anglocentrism. Instead, the project aims to give small publishing houses a chance to compete with giants like Google in the Internet-publishing marketplace. (International Herald Tribune)
For more on French public officials’ reactions to Google’s library project, read an interview with Mr. Jeanneney, from The Chronicle.
