eSchool News

College and university library officials are largely disappointed with Google’s decision to exclude non-English books from its digital library in a concession to critics of a proposed legal settlement, saying the move would cut Google’s massive online collection in half and could hamper campus research.

The internet search giant will ease its control over millions of copyright-protected books earmarked for its Google Book Search library if a court approves a revised lawsuit settlement that addresses objections of antitrust regulators. Google is hoping to keep the deal alive with a series of new provisions. Among other things, the modified agreement provides more flexibility to offer discounts on electronic books and promises to make it easier for others to resell access to a digital index of books covered in the settlement. Google’s decision to exclude foreign-language texts comes after months of persistent criticism from many European officials.

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