Google Print Opens Widely To Publishers

Google’s nearly year-old Google Print program is set for a huge expansion of content through the launch of a new program today allowing publishers to more easily submit material for inclusion.

Google is inviting publishers large or small to provide books that will be scanned and included in the Google Print service for free. Books will be accepted if they have ISBNs and are in any form of English (US, British, Canadian, Australian — any variant is acceptable).

Reuters: Google downplayed questions that Google Print would be a rival service to Amazon’s. The two companies plan to continue their business alliance (for Amazon.com’s search engine A9.com) and Google plans to link to a variety of online retailers, including Amazon, for users who wish to purchase a book.

Outsell: At some point, the simplicity of the Google idea is lost. A Google search result is becoming a Frankenstein monster of a Web page, with books here, ads over there, and news up there, with scientific journal abstracts, and licensed magazine article collections tossed in for good measure.

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