"In the race to build a universal digital library, many
important books and documents are being left behind: special
edition books, religious books, historical documents, and books
found in small local libraries or in private collections. Left
undigitized, the information inside them will fade as the paper
deteriorates.
"Despite the best efforts of organizations intent on creating
exhaustive digital libraries of all human knowledge, their projects
are still too fragmented to produce a reliable, universal, digital
repository of all printed goods. Often, corporate decisions and
budgetary considerations mean books are left behind.
"Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) More about Google Book Project and
Project Gutenberg are two of the more well-known efforts to convert
the printed page to a digitally viewable form. Usually, large
libraries and university research directors form alliances to take
on the challenge of digitizing their own collections. Their 'leave
no book behind' mentality is filtering down to smaller businesses
with limited revenue, driven by improvements in scanning and
storage technologies. This is creating a balance of power, so to
speak, that allows those without the reach and capital of Google to
join in the digitization movement."
