Author Archive

Posted by Josh Mendelsohn, Program Manager

There are book lovers everywhere at Google, not just on the Book Search team. In fact, a diverse group of Googlers -- from engineering, product management, marketing, operations and recruiting -- regularly volunteers to arrange author visits to the Google campus, inviting them to discuss their latest works and ideas. We affectionately call it Authors@Google, and it has been so popular at our Mountain View headquarters that we’ve expanded it to our New York and Santa Monica offices.

But Authors@Google isn’t just for Googlers. With the help of Google Video, we're able to share many of these events with book lovers around the world. Interested in hearing thoughts from Seth Godin or John Battelle? Curious about what Nobel Prize winner Dr. James Watson has been studying recently? These authors and many others are just a few clicks away. Take a look at the current list of videos, and be sure to check back, too -- we're always adding more.

Posted by Venu Vemula, Software Engineer

The universe of books is much larger than most of us can imagine, but the book you need might be right in your local library. That's why we're excited to announce the launch of a new Google Book Search feature aimed at making it easier for readers everywhere to discover the hidden gems in libraries around the world: Library Catalog Search.

If it looks like we may not have the book that best matches your search query in our index, you'll now see library catalog results appear at the bottom of the search results page. These results come from a search of library catalog information from libraries around the globe (over 15 union catalogs representing holdings from over 30 countries). You can also choose to conduct searches across these library catalog holdings by selecting the Library Catalog radio button on the Advanced Search page.

Posted by Arielle Reinstein, Associate Product Marketing Manager

We've heard from book lovers and Google Book Search fans looking for a way to give their websites the power of Book Search. Now you can do it -- just by copying and pasting a few simple lines of code.

Whether you're a book blogger, a librarian or simply want to help people who visit your site find more useful information, you can add a Google Book Search box like this one to your site for free. Just visit this page, where you'll find simple step-by-step instructions.

Posted by Adam Langley, Software Engineer

We've often highlighted oldies but goodies on this blog -- Aesop's fables, Shakespeare's plays, Richardson's novels -- so we're thrilled to share the news that starting today, you can freely download, print and save out-of-copyright titles to read at your own pace.

You'll find everything from classic novels to ancient philosophical texts, to any number of practical or creative works that have entered the public domain since the earliest days of the printed word.

To easily locate public domain titles you can download in full, simply select the "Full view" radio button on Google Book Search, then click the new "Download" button that now appears on out-of-copyright titles.

(Please note that we do not enable downloading of any books currently under copyright. Unless we have the publisher’s permission to show more, we display only small snippets of text –- at most, two or three sentences surrounding your search term -– to help you determine if you’ve found what you’re looking for.)

Posted by Ryan Sands, Google Book Search Support Team

Suppose you're searching on Google for books about, oh, say, the design of electrical installations. You see links pop up showing book results from Google Book Search. It looks like you've found the perfect book, but you're not quite sure yet. You follow a link and see a page from a book with your search term highlighted. But you're still not sure it's the right book, and you want to see more. What do you do?

That's the question we got from Amutha, who sent us an email asking:

How can I see more pages in the book, A Textbook of Design of Electrical Installations by V.K Jain & Amitabh Bajaj?

For many in-copyright books, such as the one Amutha's interested in, we show a limited preview of pages. In a limited preview, you can browse through a few pages without having to log in by using the navigation arrows at the top right of each book page:


These arrows allow you to page through the available preview pages. If you're browsing a book this way, we won't ask you for any further information.

However, other people, like Joudi, have asked about viewing specific pages:

I attempted to read this page, but I couldn't because you required detailed information. Can you help me?

When we ask you for information, it's because we have a mechanism in place to enforce the limits of the preview. That means that in many cases, we don't show you certain pages unless you're logged in to a Google Account. If you already have an account (like a Gmail or Google Groups account), you're all set -- just plug in your regular login info to continue browsing up to the limit of the preview. If you don't have an account, it's quick and easy to create one, and you'll have better access to the books you find.



But remember, even after you log in, you won't be able to see some pages of the book -- to protect authors and publishers, some portions will remain hidden at all times (it's what we sometimes call the "swiss cheese" effect).

If you've browsed up to the limit and you still want more, you can follow the links to buy the book or borrow it from your local library. Of course, you also have the option of searching specifically for books you can see in full view. Just select the "Full view" radio button on http://books.google.com -- you'll be able to page through the entire text of books that are either out of copyright or displayed in full at the request of the copyright holder.

Posted by Laura Driussi, Strategic Partner Manager

Good news for policymakers, researchers and others looking for key government documents. Recently, DIANE Publishing, which reprints a wide variety of government publications, made all of its titles in Google Book Search 100 percent viewable. While the Partner Program's default settings limit people to viewing 20 percent of any title, you're now free to read every page of every DIANE publication in the index. Explains Herman Baron, President of DIANE Publishing,

Our mission has always been to carefully select U.S. government reports and publish them to make it easier for readers to access this valuable information. Google Book Search provides a way for us to make these documents available to Google users worldwide. The free flow of government information to a democratic society is utmost in our mind. We're pleased to offer everything from the U.S. Army War College Guide to National Security Policy and Strategy to a 1997 House committee hearing on Protecting the Future of Social Security to this GAO report on deterring the illegal diamond trade.

Feel like browsing? Try an advanced search by publisher to check out the other government reports DIANE has made fully viewable online.

Posted by Arielle Reinstein, Associate Product Marketing Manager

In the main lobby at the Googleplex, there's a display showing a three-dimensional globe, with exploding geysers of color representing search queries typed in by people around the world. It's always fascinating -- even a little awe-inspiring -- to see such a vivid demonstration of people's curiosity.

I had a similar feeling the other day when a colleague showed me this blog by Laura James, Esq. -- a true crime afficiando and history buff who tracks down and publishes information about "forgotten true crime stories and the fascinating people who wrote them." One of her recent discoveries: out-of-copyright crime history books in Google Book Search:

So far, the gem of the Google crime collection is Hanging in Chains, a book by Albert Hartshorne published in 1891. The book details severe punishments through time and cultures, covering everything from the disposal of murderers in ancient Egypt all the way up through various European manifestations of severe punishments like gibbeting or hanging in chains -- a punishment not solely reserved for pirates, and one used until well into the nineteenth century. Until Google digitized the book, you'd be hard-pressed to find a copy for less than a hundred bucks. Now it's free.

I can hardly believe our collective luck at having these amazing old books, all of them out of print for generations, free, online, and text-searchable. Wow. Enjoy!

It's great to know we're helping people unearth hard-to-find books that satisfy their curiosity -- about historical events and every other topic imaginable. (Speaking of history, I can't resist adding a pointer to our brand new News Archive Search, which lets people search news articles stretching back more than 200 years. Give it a try.)

Posted by Arielle Reinstein, Associate Product Marketing Manager

It was in Jim Hosney's 11th grade English class (aptly called "Great Books") where I first read Faulkner, Joyce, Conrad, Ellison, and Nabokov. I remember getting lost in the description of lightbulbs and Louis Armstrong in the beginning of Invisible Man, struggling through Joyce, and crying on an airplane as I finished Heart of Darkness. We questioned Humbert Humbert's reliability as a narrator and examined Faulkner's style in light of feminist theory. It was amazing.

But every year, there are hundreds of attempts to restrict access to these great books and many others -- by authors as diverse as Toni Morrison, Mark Twain, and Judy Blume -- through challenges to their inclusion in school curricula as well as libraries. So I'm excited to share the news that this year, Google is joining the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries and bookstores across the country in celebrating the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week (September 23rd-30th).

How are we celebrating? Starting today, you can visit http://www.google.com/bannedbooks to explore 42 banned or challenged books honored by the Radcliffe Publishing Course as among the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century. You can see which of these novels have been targeted for banning, find out where you can buy or borrow them, and check out what authors and critics have to say by browsing related books.

We're proud to highlight these books, and we hope this collection helps you rediscover old favorites, sparks your interest in books you haven't read before, and gives you new cause to celebrate your freedom to read.

Posted by Posted by Leslie Yeh, Product Manager

Why not add a cool book widget to your website? The AJAX Search API now supports Google Book Search and comes with an easy way to add a dynamic "book bar" to your web page or blog.

I created the one below by plugging in "wedding plans" and "flower arrangements" — two subjects I've been interested in lately.

Just tell us what your website is about, and we'll generate the code you need to add a bookshelf of titles related to it. It's a cool way to show off your favorite books and add interesting content to your site. Find out more about the book bar on the AJAX Search API blog.