In Conclusion

Google has become ubiquitous. It is a verb, a noun, a cliche. Google is loved, hated, adored and feared.

I am glad that I chose the Google Books project as my topic even though at the time it seemed like the ubiquity of Google might make the project cliche. How ever the settlement shakes out in its final form, it will have far-reaching implications on a global level for almost anyone in the publishing, academic, or library fields. Really anyone who comes into contact with the written word (that's a lot of people!) should be concerned about the outcome of Google Books.

The enormity of the project guarantees both complexities and nuances which have generated the controversy surrounding its launch. At the heart of the matter is both making sure that copyright holders are compensated adequately for their work and ensuring that Google does not create a monopoly on digitized works, ending competition, driving up fees and stifling the free exchange of ideas and scholarship. Being on the front lines of the information battlefield, librarians must be ever-vigilant.