UT, Google Amend Book Search Agreement to Free Up More Titles

Google's pending settlement with authors and publishers groups will make more books from University of Texas libraries available online.

UT Libraries has amended its agreement with Google regarding the universities' collections. Under the amendment, explained Vice Provost and Libraries Director Fred Heath, universities can purchase institutional subscriptions, which give users access to the complete text of millions of titles while compensating authors and publishers for the service.

"Under the settlement, public domain works will still be available in their full text and millions of in-copyright, out-of-print works will be available to be previewed and accessed online by readers," Heath said. "The subscription program proposed by the settlement will provide for subscriber institutions to allow their students and patrons to access the full texts of all the works included in the subscription database."

Currently, particular materials from UT collections are available in varying amounts, depending on copyright status, through Google Book Search.

The university is one of several schools to partner with Google on the Google Books Library Project, designed to digitize volumes drawn from the collections of respected institutions around the globe.