SHockaday Google Books and the Open Access Movement

    Google Books is an online resource with millions of materials available for users to access at any time from any place with an internet connection. Beyond acting as a repository for books, it also acts as a useful tool for locating the best way to access a book. For instance, it not only compares the prices of the same book from multiple stores, but it also provides the user with a list of libraries from which the book can be borrowed. According to the article "Determining Textbook Cost, Formats, and Licensing with Google Books API: A Case Study from an Open Textbook Project," the price and availability comparison capabilities of Google Books API can have wide-ranging benefits for users who are looking to reduce the cost of textbooks.

    Google Books API is particularly useful for promoting open textbook access because it pulls metadata from Google's e-book store (Costello, 4), meaning it can display information such as whether or not a resource is public domain. With access to that information all in one place, users can forgo scouring ten different websites to try to find the cheapest copy of a textbook.

    Although Google Books has a provable use for getting a deal on a textbook, it is also important to question whether or not the tool has quality research materials within its collection. According to one study comparing Google Books to other research-based databases, Google Books contains approximately the same amount of reliable source material (Jones, E. 2010). The study notes that some of the scans on Google Books tend to be lower quality on average than those in other established databases, but that the material is no less accessible. Overall, Google Books is a huge step in the direction of promoting open access worldwide.

Work Cited

Costello, E., Bolger, R., Soverino, T., & Brown, M. (2019). Determining Textbook Cost, Formats, and Licensing with Google Books API: A Case Study from an Open Textbook Project. Information Technology and Libraries, 38(1), 91+. http://dx.doi.org.palomar.idm.oclc.org/10.6017/ital.v38i1.10738

Jones, E. (2010, April). Google Books as a general research collection. Library Resources & Technical Services, 54(2), 77+. https://link-gale-com.palomar.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A223907184/CSIC?u=cclc_palomar&sid=summon&xid=66283ae4