If you haven't heard the latest news about the massive Google Book Search program, take a look at this article from Inside Higher Ed: The Evolving Google Library.
Reading it, one of my first thoughts was: who needs a Kindle if you can pay for individual access to the Google Books collection and connect to your own library of titles from any Web-enabled device using your Google account?
Is it really Google and not Amazon that is destined to dominate the world of e-books (and God knows what other forms of content)? Only time will tell. Questions about the newest version of the Google Books plan abound, for example:
* Will Google succeed in adding new and current titles to it's collection along with the zillions of older books it is scanning from the world's biggest libraries?
* So far the spotlight has been on Google's recently amended deal with the University of Michigan, but there are another 30 or so libraries that have already opened their collections to the Google Book project. Do these libraries all have the same deal with Google or will terms vary from institution to institution?
* And of course: how long before individuals can pay for access to full texts and what will be the cost structure?
Things are starting to get interesting.
