Google Book Search will change the way libraries function. With information widely available on the Internet, the role of physical library buildings will be completely different.
One of the major side effects of the Internet has been the growing momentum of the open source movement. As the capacity to make information more readily available has increased, there have been stronger calls to do so.
The open source movement no longer consists of a faction of computer geeks and academics. The arrival of the corporate behemoth Internet company Google means that the digitization of print content will be changed.
In much the same way that iTunes changed the way people download and manage music digitally, Google will have the opportunity to meld the sector to its whim.
The concept of a digital library is far from new: In fact, Tufts has been putting the concept into practice for years. Students have the ability to access content subscriptions from any computer.
Professor Gregory Crane manages the Perseus project from the Classics department, making a wealth of information and content from the ancient world readily available.
In addition, Tufts has a variety of unique content that is not available through the major libraries that are partnering with Google.
This content includes the Bolles Collection, with documents and maps from London, and the Boston Streets Collection.
It is with these resources that the university should make its presence known in the digital community. It would be a waste for multiple libraries to digitize the same content repeatedly; there is no need for Mark Twain to be available in triplicate.
However, the library's policy of taking up digitization on an ad hoc basis is dangerous. The greatest risk with this process is that there is little central organization.
With so many disparate groups of data and information to be digitized, there is not always a standard policy for how Tufts approaches the issue. It is sad to see so many willing participants with no decision-maker.
As the role of libraries changes, there needs to be a changing internal structure and organization. While there is no longer a need for card catalog maintenance, there is need for a digitization effort.
It will be much more effective for the library to start making changes earlier, rather than continue to wait and see how the movement develops.
Record companies took a huge hit from their failure to recognize the potential of digital music, as well as their inflexibility in dealing with the new medium.
Print content will likely follow a similar course of battle concerning intellectual property and distribution rights.
There are enormous amounts of both content and potential users for a new era of digital libraries, but there needs to be a concerted organizational effort on the part of the University for Tufts to maintain its position as a cradle of learning.
