Access to Paper of Record

[claudia holland <chollan3@gmu.edu>]

Since Google's purchase of the digital archive "News of Record" 
in December, I believe, researchers have not had access to its 
contents. Google has not been terribly forthcoming as to when 
this archive will become available, with the latest response on 
January 28, 2009. Here is an excerpt:

"As you may already know, Google acquired paperofrecord.com 
recently. We are currently working on the most effective way to 
search and browse this valuable content. We're doing our best to 
find a solution to include as much of the acquired content as 
possible. This takes time, and we appreciate your patience. We're 
constantly making improvements to ensure the best user 
experience."

Does anyone have any news to share about a date of accessibility? 
Although I can appreciate Google's pursuit of the "best user 
experience," I find the lag (and I mean lag) of access to this 
important archive and the lack of communication from Google about 
its access to be concerning and perhaps foreshadows what future 
access to Googlized content will be like.

Claudia Holland, MA, MLIS
oGeorge Mason University;University Libraries
chollan3@gmu.edu
Head, Copyright Resources Office