British Library puts 40m pages on Google
Texts from 18th and 19th centuries to be made available in search deal
The British Library has signed a deal with Google that will see thousands of books, periodicals and pamphlets made available on the internet. In total around 40 million pages will be accessible for free through the search engine.
The agreement covers around 250,000 out-of-copyright texts published between 1700 and 1870, a period of history that includes the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the growth of the British Empire and the abolition of slavery.
The British Library will select the texts and Google will digitise them and make the content avaiable on Google Books and the British Library's website. Among the first works to be processed will be a feminist pamphlet about Queen Marie-Antoinette dating back to 1791; a book about the invention of the first combustion engine-driven submarine, written in 1858; and a description from 1775 of a stuffed hippopotamus owned by the Prince of Orange.
The digital collection will include material in different languages and the library says it will focus on works that are not yet available in digital form.
Dame Lynne Brindley, chief executive of the library, said the concept was in keeping with the British Library's philosophy of making knowledge freely available. "We are building on this proud tradition of giving access to anyone, anywhere and at any time," she said.
The cost of the project is being met by Google, which has signed similar deals with 40 other libraries around the world.
Google's plans to build a comprehensive digital library of literature on its Google Books channel have run into legal problems because of copyright issues. But the search giant launched its eBook store last December to take on Apple and Amazon.
It is not the first time that the library has teamed up with technology companies to make its collections more accessible. As many as 40 million pages of newspapers will be digitised as part of a deal with IT firm brightsolid, while Microsoft has digitised 65,000 books from the 19th century, some of which are now available on iPads. ·
