Belgium’s University of Gand will be the 15th library in the world to have the entire text from its collections scanned and added to the Google Book Search database. Five other major libraries in Europe have already had their contents indexed by the search giant.
Last week the University of Lausanne’s library became the first French library to be added to Google’s database. The hundreds of thousands of Dutch and French books from the Belgian University will be next in line to be converted into digital fom for posterity.
While Google News has faced more than a few obstacles in its endeavours to index content from Belgian and French news sites, the Google Book Search initiative seems to be sailing unhindered.
The project has been made possible by the Flemish government, and it is a Godsend for the University who had planned to renovate its library in 2010. Digitising the books will help students and researchers access the precious collection online during their work.
