Editorial UOC joins the Google Book Search initiative
[11/04/2008]
Up to 800 publications produced by the University are to be made available to the world via the tools offered by the internet giant Google. The initiative allows users to view up to 20% of each book that Editorial UOC, the University’s publishing house, puts on the internet.
Up to 800 publications produced by the University are to be made available to the world via the tools offered by the internet giant Google. The initiative allows users to view up to 20% of each book that Editorial UOC, the University’s publishing house, puts on the internet.
Thanks to the agreement reached, Editorial UOC is to form part of Google Book Search, a book indexing system that offers all those interested the chance to leaf through and discover the contents of books in digital format. There is then the chance to link to the publisher or the bookshops selling the work.
This initiative from Google arose from the changes seen in the publishing sector in the context of the information society. The current market trends mean that there are increasingly more new releases that appear on bookshop shelves for shorter periods of time, with increasingly fragmented and stagnated sales, and increasingly short printing runs. This is only made worse by the appearance of new channels, formats and ways of reading.
Faced with these profound changes in the way content is handled, Google started up this virtual catalogue. Google Book Search offers different versions, depending on the copyright affecting each work. Thus, there is a version for publishing houses that limits the contents of books uploaded to the web, a version for works in the public domain whereby all the content can be viewed and exported, or a version for libraries offering extracts from publications.
Editorial UOC
Editorial UOC is an initiative from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC) whose main aim is to disseminate materials and knowledge that the University has produced as part of its specific methodology that aids distance learning. Among others, it has published the recent Vull Saber collection, which includes books on a range of specific subjects written in an easily understandable language and at a reasonable price that are designed not only to inform the traditional university audience, but all those interested in lifelong learning. Another recent initiative is the Tic.cero collection, which offers everyone access to specific knowledge on information and communication technology.
Information Society