Three library groups have asked Department of Justice antitrust investigators to ask a New York court keep a close eye on Google Books' subscription fees and the appointment of Book Rights Registry board members.

The organizations—The American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the Association of Research Libraries—aren't opposing the Google Books settlement. But they do want to make sure that Google doesn't exploit its position as the sole provider of its new subscription service. And they want to make sure that the new Registry will afford other entities that want to license books terms that are at least equivalent to the ones Google is receiving.

The Google Books settlement, which is pending approval from a New York court in October, allows Google to sell institutional subscriptions to university and community libraries, which would enable them and their patrons to access the massive archive of books Google scanned as part of its Library Project.

It also creates an independent registry that will serve as a database of the holders of rights to the works in the Google archive and the licenses those rights holders give Google to display and sell their works.

"With an absence of competition for the proposed services, the settlement could compromise fundamental library values such as equity of access to information, patron privacy and intellectual freedom, according to the library associations who filed comments with the presiding judge on behalf of libraries and the public interest," the groups said in a press release.

Full press release, after the jump.

Press Release: Library Groups Advise DOJ on Proposed Google Book Search Settlement
For Immediate Release
July 30, 2009

Library groups advise DOJ on proposed Google Book Search settlement

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA), the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) sent a letter to William Cavanaugh, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division yesterday, requesting the Division to advise the court presiding over the Google Book Settlement to supervise the implementation of the settlement closely, particularly the pricing of institutional subscriptions and the selection of the Book Rights Registry board members.

The letter, which was sent following a meeting the library groups had with the Antitrust Division, also recommended that the Division itself actively monitor the parties' compliance with the settlement's provisions.

In particular, the library groups urged the Division to ask the court to review pricing of institutional subscriptions whenever the Division concludes that the prices do not meet the economic objectives set forth in the settlement. In order to evaluate the price of an institutional subscription, the groups believe the Division should have access to all relevant price information from Google and the Registry.

The library associations assert that the Division should ask the court to review any refusal by the Registry to license copyrights in books on the same terms available to Google and to also review the selection process for the Registry Board to ensure the interests of all rightsholders are considered.

With an absence of competition for the proposed services, the settlement could compromise fundamental library values such as equity of access to information, patron privacy and intellectual freedom, according to the library associations who filed comments with the presiding judge on behalf of libraries and the public interest.

Contact:
Jenni Terry
Press Officer, ALA Washington Office
202-628-8410, jterry@alawash.org

Prue Adler
ARL Associate Executive Director
(202) 296-2296, prue@arl.org

Original Letter to Department of Justice - July 30, 2009 (1.4 MB)