It is a service offered by Google which was created in December, 2003. Its main aim is to offer the users information about the content of some books online. That’s why Google started scanning many books, no matter if they have copyright or they haven’t.
The reason of the Copyright or not in some books is that nowadays works, all of them have copyright, but when the author of the work is dead, the Copyright will last for 75 years, at least in Spain. After all these years, the work will be “free”. Those books which are free of Copyright, are complete in Google Books and you can download them in PDF, like El Quijote, de Cervantes.
But they also show some pages of works with Copyright, and many authors, artists, publishing houses are against this service as it breaks the law of Copyright.But in November of 2009 they settle an agreement between Google, Editors and Authors. Here there is more information.
Although it sometimes breaks the law, this is a very useful service, furthermore its use is very simple, you just have to write the title, or specific words and many books related with your search will appear.It is a very useful tool in academic researches, when you’re looking for quotations etc.
SOURCES:
- GoogleBooks. (2010) In GoogleDirson. Retrieved 10:45, January 27, 2010, from http://google.dirson.com/post/2787-libros-google-formato-pdf/
- GoogleBooks Settlement Agreement (2010). In GoogleBooks. Retrieved 10:48, January 27, 2010, from http://books.google.com/intl/en/googlebooks/agreement/
