HP now scanning half a million books -- selling thru Amazon

Daithi · 10-22-2009, 10:07 AM

According to an article on Yahoo News, HP has partnered with the University of Michigan to scan their collection of over half a million out of copyright books, and will be making these books available for purchase as Print-On-Demand books through Amazon.

The article doesn't mention if digital versions of these books will also be made available (but I'd be surprised if they weren't). The article also quotes HP saying, "collaborating with the university to eliminate barriers and increase access to content as part of an ongoing effort to make the concept of 'out of print' a thing of the past."

"Out of Print" and "Public Domain" are two different things, so it sounds to me like HP may also be copying books that are still copyrighted but long out of print. It would be nice to see Congress modify the copyright laws to allow these kinds of books back into the public sphere (while still compensating the original authors or their estate).

John F · 10-22-2009, 10:37 AM

A related discussion:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59987

Patricia · 10-22-2009, 10:42 AM

This is good news.

However, many of these works will already be available at The Internet Archive:
http://www.archive.org/details/texts

which is a useful place to find PDFs of public domain books.

Greg Anos · 10-22-2009, 11:01 AM

Multiple source of text (i.e. competition) is a good thing. The more the merrier...

Patricia · 10-22-2009, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Multiple source of text (i.e. competition) is a good thing. The more the merrier...

Oh, you are quite right, RSE.
I only meant to point out that at least some of the stuff is already freely available. But I'm all in favour of making books more widely accessible.

kennyc · 10-22-2009, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patricia

This is good news.

However, many of these works will already be available at The Internet Archive:
http://www.archive.org/details/texts

which is a useful place to find PDFs of public domain books.

I actually ran into that by accident yesterday in trying to find some of Faulkners works and was horribly disappointed by the (conversion) errors in the files. So much so that I simply deleted them.

Daithi · 10-22-2009, 01:46 PM

I've used the Internet Archive to grab several PDFs. Great Site.

Even if we get a lot of duplicated material, I agree with Patricia -- this is good news. And with RSE -- the more the merrier!

Superlucky · 10-22-2009, 02:14 PM

I'm skeptical that the quality will be tolerable. Stuff that is simply scanned and never looked at by a human is pretty poor.

kennyc · 10-22-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superlucky

I'm skeptical that the quality will be tolerable. Stuff that is simply scanned and never looked at by a human is pretty poor.

Yes, see my post above and/or try downloading and reading a few of the epubs.

Patricia · 10-22-2009, 03:32 PM

The PDFs are mostly quite adequate. But I agree that the automatically-generated text files and EPubs are awful. It depends on your needs. If a PDF will work for you, then it's good news. If you need another format then prepare to do an extensive proofing.

I usually have a couple of books needing proofing on the go. Whenever I feel the urge, I do a few pages.

Daithi · 10-22-2009, 03:46 PM

I agree that without a lot human proofreading scanned/photographed books make lousy ePub documents. However they make very good PDF documents that provide a starting point and a source if you wanted to create your own ePub version.

I downloaded all of Charles Dickens works with the original illustrations. There are also a ton of other illustrated books on Internet Archive and some are absolutely beautiful. If you have a large screen reader like a Kindle DX the site is well worth your while. If you want to produce your own ePub version (and don't mind a lot of work) the site is worth your while as well.

Sparrow · 10-22-2009, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

I actually ran into that by accident yesterday in trying to find some of Faulkners works and was horribly disappointed by the (conversion) errors in the files. So much so that I simply deleted them.

The Internet Archive is a valuable source for stuff that Gutenberg doesn't have.

Although the text files are pretty dire, as Patricia says - and certainly not readable as presented - it can be quite satisfying (and not as arduous as it initially appears) to turn the mess into a legible text.

kennyc · 10-22-2009, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrow

The Internet Archive is a valuable source for stuff that Gutenberg doesn't have.

Although the text files are pretty dire, as Patricia says - and certainly not readable as presented - it can be quite satisfying (and not as arduous as it initially appears) to turn the mess into a legible text.

No quibble with that. I've been wishing for an ebook version of The Sound and the Fury......maybe I should just get with it, eh?

10-22-2009, 10:07 AM	#1
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	HP now scanning half a million books -- selling thru Amazon According to an article on Yahoo News, HP has partnered with the University of Michigan to scan their collection of over half a million out of copyright books, and will be making these books available for purchase as Print-On-Demand books through Amazon. The article doesn't mention if digital versions of these books will also be made available (but I'd be surprised if they weren't). The article also quotes HP saying, "collaborating with the university to eliminate barriers and increase access to content as part of an ongoing effort to make the concept of 'out of print' a thing of the past." "Out of Print" and "Public Domain" are two different things, so it sounds to me like HP may also be copying books that are still copyrighted but long out of print. It would be nice to see Congress modify the copyright laws to allow these kinds of books back into the public sphere (while still compensating the original authors or their estate).

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10-22-2009, 10:37 AM	#2
John F Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,768 Karma: 69470831 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo Clara 2E	A related discussion: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59987

10-22-2009, 10:42 AM	#3
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	This is good news. However, many of these works will already be available at The Internet Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/texts which is a useful place to find PDFs of public domain books.

10-22-2009, 11:01 AM	#4
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,478 Karma: 37057604 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	Multiple source of text (i.e. competition) is a good thing. The more the merrier...

10-22-2009, 01:46 PM	#7
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	I've used the Internet Archive to grab several PDFs. Great Site. Even if we get a lot of duplicated material, I agree with Patricia -- this is good news. And with RSE -- the more the merrier!

10-22-2009, 02:14 PM	#8
Superlucky Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 5952 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-350	I'm skeptical that the quality will be tolerable. Stuff that is simply scanned and never looked at by a human is pretty poor.

10-22-2009, 03:32 PM	#10
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	The PDFs are mostly quite adequate. But I agree that the automatically-generated text files and EPubs are awful. It depends on your needs. If a PDF will work for you, then it's good news. If you need another format then prepare to do an extensive proofing. I usually have a couple of books needing proofing on the go. Whenever I feel the urge, I do a few pages.

10-22-2009, 03:46 PM	#11
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	I agree that without a lot human proofreading scanned/photographed books make lousy ePub documents. However they make very good PDF documents that provide a starting point and a source if you wanted to create your own ePub version. I downloaded all of Charles Dickens works with the original illustrations. There are also a ton of other illustrated books on Internet Archive and some are absolutely beautiful. If you have a large screen reader like a Kindle DX the site is well worth your while. If you want to produce your own ePub version (and don't mind a lot of work) the site is worth your while as well.

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