Google Book Search Settlement

On October 28, 2008 Google, The Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) announced a settlement agreement in regards to Google Book Search. Although not a party to the agreement, Stanford supports the proposed settlement, and intends to continue with negotiations for its own participation.

Joint Press Release
Stanford Library FAQ
Settlement Highlights Presented to the Stanford Faculty Senate
Google's Press Release
Google's Blog Posting
Book Rightsholders Page
Full Text of Settlement Agreement
SULAIR IC Blog Post
Blog Post from Paul Courant, Dean of Libraries at the University of Michigan
A Guide for the Perplexed: Libraries and the Google Library Project Settlement by Jonathan Band

What Stanford is Saying about the Proposed Settlement:

John Etchemendy, Provost, Stanford University
“This proposed settlement has far-reaching potential for making books more broadly available to the
American public and higher education, and is consistent with Stanford's mission of sharing knowledge.
We are currently in negotiations with Google regarding Stanford's participation. This proposed
settlement is a very productive step, and we applaud it.”

Michael Keller, Stanford University Librarian, Director of Academic Information Resources, Publisher
of the Stanford University Press, and Founder/Publisher of HighWire Press
“With other libraries including the UC System and Michigan, we have for many months been
negotiating with Google and the plaintiffs to shape this agreement for the public good. We believe that
the proposed settlement offers significant benefits for society as a whole, providing access to electronic
texts to libraries throughout the country, and dramatically expanding the amount of material that can be
read (not just searched) by the public.”

Walter Hewlett, Member of Stanford's Ad Hoc Committee on the Google Book Search Project, and a former Trustee
“I think this proposed settlement will break the logjam that has locked up orphan works for so many
years.”

Last modified: November 14, 2008