November 26, 2007
U. of Michigan Librarian's New Blog Defends Institution's Deal With Google
Paul Courant, who recently took the helm at the University of Michigan’s libraries, has started a blog to defend the university’s controversial book-scanning deal with Google, in which the search giant is digitizing and adding to its index millions of books from Michigan and a group of other major libraries.
“I believe that the University of Michigan (and the other partner libraries) and Google are changing the world for the better,” he wrote earlier this month in one of his first posts. “Google is on pace to scan over 7 million volumes from U-M libraries in six years at no cost to the University. As part of our arrangement with Google, they give us copies of all the digital files, and we can keep them forever.”
The blog drew a quick response from Siva Vaidhyanathan, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, on the blog for his book-in-progress, “The Googlization of Everything: How One Company is Disrupting Culture, Commerce, and Community — and Why We Should Worry.”
“How is the ‘library copy,’ that electronic file that Michigan and others receive as payment for allowing Google to exploit their treasures, NOT an audacious infringement of copyright?” he wrote. “It violates both the copyright holder’s right to copy and right to distribute. Doesn’t a university library have an obligation to explain this?”
Soon after, Mr. Courant dashed off a reply. “I must say that I am troubled that the author of a very sensible book about copyright is so enthusiastic about trashing Google that he is willing to give up on the uses, notably scholarly uses, that are permitted in the higher-numbered sections of the Copyright Act,” he wrote. “As my institution’s copyright lawyer says: ‘FAIR USE, it’s the law.’ And my institution believes that when we have Google digitize our holdings we do so under the law and in order to make uses that are not only lawful, but that are completely consistent with the undergirding purpose of copyright law.”
There’s plenty more back-and-forth worth checking out for anyone watching the move toward mass digitization of book collections, which continues to spark the imagination of the public as well, as evidenced by last week’s cover story in Newsweek, which is about e-book machines and the future of digital collections. There’s more background in The Chronicle’s archives as well.—Jeffrey R. Young
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Aww, is Ann Arbor still bitter that Virginia beat it in the last U.S. News rankings?
— Sol Frank Nov 26, 04:41 PM #
Well, if you are going to spam for UVA, here are the graduate rankings where Michigan is ranked third, and UVA is not in the top 15:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Research_Council_Rankings
Here are the endowment growth rankings, where Michigan ranks 1st over the last 21 years, and UVA ranks third:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._colleges_and_universities_by_endowment#Institutions_by_21_year_endowment_growth . UVA is richer per capita, but UM has banked $2.5Bn more than UVA over the last 20 years.
Here are the citation rankings, with UM in the top 10, and UVA is…Not:
Economics and Business Institutions Ranked by Total Citations (1995-2005) Rank Institution Total Citations (1995-2005) 1 National Bureau of Economic Research 30,598 2 Harvard University 27,369 3 University of Pennsylvania 18,656 4 University of Chicago 16,693 5 MIT 16,065 6 Stanford University 14,947 7 University of California, Berkeley 12,409 8 Northwestern University 11,958 9 Columbia University 11,694 10 University of Michigan 11,548
Here are the patent rankings: UVA doesn’t make this list either.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1,294
Stanford University 778
California Institute of Technology 702
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation 684
Johns Hopkins University 611
Cornell Research Foundation, Inc. 487
University of Florida 476
University of Michigan 466
Here is the national research ranking from the Lombardi center as of 2002 with dollars and rankings:
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor 673,724 3
University of Virginia 182,340 68
Here are the 150+ programs where Michigan ranks in the top 10, let’s see the UVA list for the same criterion:
http://www.umich.edu/~oapainfo/TABLES/PDF/UMAA_Rankings.pdf
Program Ranking
Anthropology 1.0
Archaeology 1.0
MBA 1.0
Higher Education Administration 1.0
Health Services Administration 1.0
African-American History 1.0
Conducting 1.0
American Politics 1.0
Social Work 1.0
Historical Sociology 1.0
Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects 1.0
Management 2.0
Marketing 2.0
Industrial/Manufacturing 2.0
Mechanical 2.0
Geochemistry 2.0
Sedimentology/Stratigraphy 2.0
Women’s History 2.0
Archives and Preservation 2.0
Composition 2.0
Political_Science_Aggregate 2.0
Psychology_Aggregate 2.0
Developmental Psychology 2.0
Experimental Psychology 2.0
Social Policy 2.0
Learning Communities 2.0
National_Undergraduate_Public 2.0
Executive Education Open Enrollment Programs 3.0
Business_Aggregate 3.0
Finance 3.0
Classical Studies 3.0
Dentistry 3.0
Education Psychology 3.0
Nuclear 3.0
Aerospace/AeronauticalAstronautical 3.0
Environmental 3.0
Industrial/Manufacturing 3.0
Information_Aggregate 3.0
Nursing_Aggregate 3.0
Midwifery 3.0
Pharmacy 3.0
Political_Science_Aggregate 3.0
Cognitive Psychology 3.0
Public Policy Analysis 3.0
Social Psychology 3.0
Social Stratification 3.0
Sociology_Aggregate 3.0
Accounting 4.0
International_Business 4.0
Education Policy 4.0
Aerospace/AeronauticalAstronautical 4.0
EnvironmentalEnvironmental Health 4.0
Industrial 4.0
Materials 4.0
Nuclear 4.0
Paleontology 4.0
Information Systems 4.0
Orchestra/Symphony 4.0
Piano/Keyboard 4.0
Music 4.0
Clinical Nurse Specialist Community 4.0
Environmental Policy and Management 4.0
Health Policy and Management 4.0
Sociology_Aggregate 4.0
Service Learning 4.0
Accounting 5.0
Production and OM 5.0
Quantitative Analysis 5.0
Aerospace 5.0
Mechanical 5.0
Mechanical 5.0
ElectricalElectronic/Communications 5.0
Gender and Literature 5.0
Geology_Aggregate 5.0
History_Aggregate 5.0
European History 5.0
Family Medicine 5.0
Geriatrics 5.0
Opera/Voice 5.0
Gerontology/Geriatric 5.0
Nursing Services Administration 5.0
Atomic/Molecular/OpticalPlasma 5.0
International Politics 5.0
Public Health_Aggregate 5.0
International_Business 6.0
Management 6.0
Production and OM 6.0
Creative Writing 6.0
Electrical 6.0
ElectricalElectronic/Communications 6.0
Computer Engineering 6.0
Clinical Training 6.0
Algebra 6.0
Number Theory 6.0
Information and Technology Management 6.0
Executive MBA 7.0
Marketing 7.0
Quantitative Analysis 7.0
International Economics 7.0
Public Finance 7.0
Civil 7.0
Computer Engineering 7.0
Materials 7.0
Engineering_Aggregate 7.0
Law_Aggregate 7.0
Medical Research 7.0
Microbiology 7.0
Jazz 7.0
Clinical Nurse Specialist Psychiatric 7.0
Not for Profit 8.0
Part Time MBA 8.0
MIS 8.0
Hardware 8.0
Elementary Education 8.0
Engineering_Aggregate 8.0
BiomedicalBiomedical Engineering 8.0
Civil 8.0
Cultural History 8.0
Mathematics_Aggregate 8.0
Internal Medicine 8.0
Clinical Nurse Specialist Adult 8.0
Clinical Specialist 8.0
Nurse Practitioner Adult 8.0
Nurse Practitioner – GerontologicalGeriatric 8.0
Pharmacology/Toxicology 8.0
Philosophy 8.0
Public_Affairs_Aggregate 8.0
Internships/Co-ops 8.0
Writing in The Discipline 8.0
Entrepreneurship 9.0
Executive_Education Custom Programs 9.0
Supply Chain 9.0
Curriculum/Instruction 9.0
Chemical 9.0
African-American 9.0
Asian History 9.0
International Law 9.0
Romance Languages French 9.0
Math_Aggregate 9.0
Nurse Practitioner Family 9.0
Political Theory 9.0
Business_Aggregate 10.0
Insurance 10.0
Artificial Intelligence 10.0
Education_Aggregate 10.0
Admin and Supervision 10.0
Biomedical/Engineering 10.0
Civil 10.0
Modern US History 10.0
Mathematical Statistics 10.0
Elementary Particles 10.0
Comparative Politics 10.0
Economic Sociology 10.0
— R.Will Nov 26, 07:56 PM #
My only response is:
The Cavalier Song
Fight Song
Come and sing dear old Virginia’s name,
And make the Blue Ridge roar;
For the world yields honor to her name
Who knew her deeds of yore.
Then make each heart a flowing bowl,
And pour our pledges strong,
As down the ages still we roll;
Virginia’s triumph song.
Once more our might has won the fight;
We gain the victor’s due.
And all men raise their voice to praise
The orange and blue.
So, through the years, like Cavaliers,
We’ll shout Virginia’s name!
It e’er shall be on land and sea
A sign of might and fame.
http://www.virginia.edu/marchingband/lyrics.php
— Cavalievah Nov 27, 11:37 AM #
It’s so easy to bait a Wolverine. They’re still waiting for those never-coming calls from the Ivy League, huh?
— Sol Frank Nov 28, 03:45 PM #