Think about the largest library in the world. Then multiply its size by a thousand, maybe by ten thousand, maybe more. That's the ambitious goal of the newly announced Open Library Project.
The Open Library wants to have a copy of every book. That is not every book that is presently for sale, or every important book, or even every book in English, but simply every book ever published. Of course, no building is big enough to house such a collection of printed books, so it will need to be located in the only suitable space: on the Internet.
Under this plan, the full text of all the books will not be stored on one web server. Instead, one server will hold the card catalog. That card catalog will be created by private individuals like you and me, along with additional input from every participating library and publisher. Each card catalog entry will link to places where each book could be bought, borrowed, or downloaded. The same online site will collect reviews and references and discussions and every other piece of data about the book it can get its hands on.
But most importantly, the Open Library Project will be free and open. It is planned to be a product of the people: letting them create and curate its catalog, contribute to its content, participate in its governance, and have full, free access to its data.
The managers of the Open Library Project also plan to add a print-on-demand feature, so that you can obtain a nice paper copy of scanned books whenever copyright laws allow. I would assume that will include thousands of genealogy-related books.
Will the Open Library Project succeed? I have no idea but I think this new project should be interesting to watch as it develops. You can read more at the Project's web site at http://demo.openlibrary.org. I would suggest that you start first with the page at http://demo.openlibrary.org/about.
