[Taylor514ce]

It's a bit more nuanced than that. Even if they were doing it for free, they are still violating copyright. They don't have permission to COPY books unless granted that right by the COPYRIGHT owner. Just because a book is in a library doesn't mean it's legal to copy it, in any form.

The fact that Google monetizes their illegal copies, and applies misdirection by pretending their motives are altruistic, is adding injury to insult.

The entire Google Books effort should be halted pending investigation immediately, and restitution paid to everyone who's copyright has been violated. I really cannot fathom how they get away with what they do.

I seem to remember a funky little startup company that did the same thing with music files... copied them, shared them, without permission from copyright owners. I can't remember who they were... I must need to take a nap.