Google Print

Mark Goodacre commented yesterday on the features of Google Print, revealing to me aspects of this search engine that I was not fully aware of. It shows up to have been developed into a very interesting instrument for finding things on the internet. Or as Mark phraces it: "there has been a dramatic change. I really mean dramatic -- I was quite taken aback by the riches that Print.Google.com was turning up." Give it a try!
On its homepage the finction of Google print is described thus: "Google's mission is to organize the world's information, but much of that information isn't yet online. Google Print aims to get it there by putting book content where you can find it most easily – right in your Google search results."
"Just do an ordinary Google search. When we find a book whose content contains a match for your search terms, we'll link to it in your search results. Click a book title and you'll see the page of the book that has your search terms, along with other information about the book and "Buy this Book" links to online bookstores (you can view the entirety of public domain books or, for books under copyright, just a few pages or in some cases, only the title’s bibliographic data and brief snippets). You can also search for more information within that specific book and find nearby libraries that have it." You may search on word, phrases, sentences, personal names, and you will find it very helpful. What a nice feature to be able to find, for instance, where in a specific book a particular book or article is cited, and /or be able to see the list of contents of a book before you buy it!

Mark Gooacre also refers to David Meadows and his blog, who have some reservations. I also know that some of the same features are available on the American Amazon site (http://www.amazon.com/), but it might turn out that this will be a helpful instrument in finding relevant material on the Internet. It might be useful to keep an eye on how this develops.