Google Books, according to Google, is a search engine that finds books from search terms and similar to Goodreads, brings them up with links to buy or borrow. Books also have short previews and have references available as well (“About Google Books – Google Books”). These books are available from permission or from books that are in the public domain and having them available has brought positive changes regarding preservation of older books. According to an opinion article by Paula Findlen published in Chronicle of Higher Education titled “How Google Rediscovered the 19th Century”, Google Books and its scanning of materials that are copyright free because of how old they are has opened the door to being able to read books from time periods such as the 19th Century. This has become valuable for historians such as Findlen, who states that “[w]ork that fails to enter a canon--literary, historical, or otherwise--tends to languish on the dustier shelves of college libraries. Digitization allows a new generation of scholars to look at it with fresh regard” and “Google Books is a kind of Victorian portal that takes me into a mare magnum of out-of-print authors, many of whom helped launch disciplines” (Findlen). Findlen also states that the 19th Century is the era that gave birth to the Oxford English Dictionary (Findlen) further cementing the importance of that era. Findlen’s article shows that Google Books can be a great way for works that would otherwise see minimal circulation in a physical library to get a second chance at life (Findlen).
Works Cited
“About Google Books – Google Books.” Google.com, 2025, www.google.com/googlebooks/about/. Accessed 13 May 2025.
Findlen, Paula. “How Google Rediscovered the 19th Century.”
Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 59, no. 44, Chronicle of Higher Education,
Aug. 2013, pp. B2.
Academic Search Complete, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=65577484bbb53ede9972f33b1fa18c97.
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