Yesterday Microsoft launched a beta version of its Live Search Books that makes thousands of public domain and noncopyrighted texts scanned from its library partners searchable online. Sometime next year Microsoft hopes to expand the searchable service to include copyrighted books from publishers with their permission.
Guren categorized yesterday’s beta launch as a first step in providing searchable non-copyrighted books andeventually copyrighted books with publisher permission. Books available in the beta were scanned from Microsoft’s library partners at the University of California, the British Library and the University of Toronto. Its new partners include Cornell University, the New York Public Library and the American Museum of Veterinary Medicine. The books are either in the public domain or with copyright belonging to the library.
Link to the Publishers Weekly article, link to Live Search Books