RE: Libraries criticized for role in Google Book Search

[Karl Bridges <kbridges@uvm.edu>]

Google is currently a free service.  This situation with Google 
Books is a slippery slope that, ultimately, could end up with 
Google becoming entirely a subscription service. There's nothing 
to stop them from simply blocking access one day to all .edu 
domains and starting to charge a fee.

Nothing wrong with that, it's just business, but we need to keep 
that in mind since it has serious implications for library 
budgets. Google is not in business for altruistic reasons. It 
exists to maximize shareholder value -- just like any other large 
corporation.

Karl Bridges
University of Vermont