Google Books (Google Books)

In October 2004, at the time of presentation, the service bore the name Google Print. In November 2005, its name was changed to Google Book Search, now we know it under the name Google Books, or Google Books. The service was created to perform full-text search for books scanned and stored in a digital database of Google.

In December 2005, the company entered into an agreementabout the beginning of digitization of library funds with five largest libraries of the USA and Great Britain. These were the libraries of Stanford, Michigan, Harvard and Oxford universities, as well as the New York Public Library. Gradually the partners of the project became more and more libraries and publishing houses. In March 2012, the number of digitized books exceeded the mark of 20 million.

Using Google Books is a little different than using a regular Google search. You just enter the query you are interested in in the search box and click the button "Search for books". On the results page, you will see a list ofbooks, in the text of which this phrase occurs, with a page. Also, an advanced book search is available that allows you to refine the search criteria (language, title, author, publisher, publication date, etc.).

Clicking on the name of the book, you can getgeneral information about it. In addition, on the results page, you can see fragments of the book that contain a keyword or phrase. In some cases, it is possible to study the page in full or even part of the book if the publisher or author has been given the appropriate permission. Each author or publisher who participates in the Google Books Partner Program determines the percentage of the content of the book that will be available for viewing. If the book is not protected by copyright, you can view it completely.

Such a review of the book can be compared with a trip to the bookstore: you flip through the publication and make a decision - to buy a book or not. Google Books allows you to purchase books online. To do this, you need to click the link "Get a print version" or "Download a book" (if the text is available in the Google e-book format).

Recently, Google Books has been integrated with Google Play: it became possible to purchase e-books in this application store. However, for our country this service is not yet available.

Also, Google Books gives users the opportunity create your own online library. Found using search bookscan be added to the library by distributing them on the shelves: My Books on Google Play, Favorites, Read Now, Read, Read (a similar distribution on the shelves uses the social network of LiveLib readers).

Still in your library lists will be displayedpurchased, reviewed and recently viewed books, the history of views and the books recommended for you. You can create your own shelves, as well as change access rights to both your own shelves, and to the proposed ones by default, making them personal or publicly available. Specially registered in Google Books to create a library is not necessary - enough Sign in with your Google Account.

It's important to understand that Google Books is not a free e-library. Only those books that are not protected by copyright are fully accessible, all the rest have to be bought. but With the help of this service you can briefly get acquainted with the book you are interested in and decide whether to buy it. In addition, the Google Books library will help you streamline your "reading experience".