[Libs-Or] Information: Library associations raise Google Book Search pricing concerns to DOJ

[Diedre Conkling]

Library associations raise Google Book Search pricing concerns to
DOJ<http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=4156>
December 17, 2009 ( No
Comments<http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&view=js&name=js&ver=GRUts-X5mqs.en.&am=!JjYx-7BZhZy5A3Gi0egGIiyZ7URC3i6z3Cvtb6ZrA0jkGg#comments>)

CONTACT: Jenni Terry <jterry at alawash.org>
Press Officer
(202) 628-8410

For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA), the Association
of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Association of Research
Libraries (ARL) recently sent a
letter<http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/AntitrustdivASA-FINAL1.pdf>to
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asking for ongoing judicial
oversight of the Google Book Search settlement, if approved.

The library associations urge the DOJ to request the court to review the
pricing of the institutional subscriptions to ensure that the economic
objectives set forth in the settlement agreement are met. Libraries, as the
potential primary customers of institutional subscriptions, are concerned
that the absence of competition could result in profit-maximizing pricing.
The associations also expressed disappointment with the DOJ’s failure to
urge the parties to the settlement, which include Google, the Authors Guild,
and the Association of American Publishers, to require representation of
academic authors on the Book Rights Registry board. As the groups explained
in their filings with the court and in their meeting with the DOJ, academic
authors wrote the vast majority of the books Google will include in its
database. Without representation of academic authors, the Books Rights
Registry may establish a pricing model that maximizes profit rather than
public access to academic works.

http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=4156



-- 
Diedre Conkling
Lincoln County Library District
P.O. Box 2027
Newport, OR  97365
Work phone & fax:  541-265-3066
Work email:  diedre at beachbooks.org
Home email:  diedre08 at gmail.com
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