Google and the Myth of Universal Knowledge: A View from Europe - Tapa dura

"Jean-Nol Jeanneney is horrified when he imagines how our children might come to see the world: Will future generations think no great books have been written in a language other than English? And even worse: Will they see history only through American eyes? The president of the French national library has made himself the frontman in what he sees as a struggle to save cultural diversity. In the postmodern world, the battleground is the internet. Here, search engines determine what tomorrow''s generations will click on, learn and think."--Financial Times "A work that not only addresses a critical issue but articulates practical proposals that can, and should, command the attention of cultural policy-makers and decision-makers everywhere. It is also essential reading for the wider public. The issue is about which principles . . . should guide the processes of digitising the world's literary heritage."--Colin Nettelbeck "Australian Book Review " "Whether Google maintains its hegemony in the realm of book digitization or in fact a robust non-Anglo-American challenger emerges to contest it, designers of the next big digital library will benefit from a careful reading of the big objections of this slim volume."--Henry Lowood "Technology and Culture " "Provides a crucial dissenting opinion. . . . The Google war chest has all but secured dominance over smaller library efforts, like the author's own project to digitize the French national collection. History judges societies by how they treat their most disadvantaged members. This book asks only that the Google economy be held to the same standard." --David Ng "Forbes " "A take on world Googleization you're not likely to get from your broker. . . . [Jeanneney] brings his own high-wattage bulb to enlighten us. Be thankful we didn't ban French fries, French wine, and this very illuminating French book." --Carlin Romano "Philadelphia Inquirer " Provides a crucial dissenting opinion. . . . The Google war chest has all but secured dominance over smaller library efforts, like the author s own project to digitize the French national collection. History judges societies by how they treat their most disadvantaged members. This book asks only that the Google economy be held to the same standard. --David Ng "Forbes "" "A take on world Googleization you''re not likely to get from your broker. . . . [Jeanneney] brings his own high-wattage bulb to enlighten us. Be thankful we didn''t ban French fries, French wine, and this very illuminating French book."--;i>Philadelphia Inquirer"--Carlin Romano "Philadelphia Inquirer " "Jean-Noel Jeanneney is horrified when he imagines how our children might come to see the world: Will future generations think no great books have been written in a language other than English? And even worse: Will they see history only through American eyes? The president of the French national library has made himself the frontman in what he sees as a struggle to save cultural diversity. In the postmodern world, the battleground is the internet. Here, search engines determine what tomorrow''s generations will click on, learn and think."--"Financial Times"