Google Book Search was launched secretly launched in 2002 and has been pretty low key until the past couple of years, more so in the last year. It uses their search technology to look at text/ excerpts in books that may be of interests in you, giving search results of where to buy and if it is available to borrow in a library near you.

Integrated with their Google.com main site, you might have already been using it but have not noticed it. You can view books in three ways: Full, Limited and Snippet view. There are times where previews aren’t available as related to brand new or books that aren’t given online viewing permission from the authors or publishers.

Their main objective (which has met with a certain amount of controversy) is to eventually digitize all the books in the world and make them easier for people to find and buy.

So why has such a universally useful tool become so controversial?

Because some in the publishing community question whether any third party should be able to copy and index copyrighted works so that users can search through them, even if all a user sees is the bibliographic information and a few snippets of text, and even if the result is to make those books widely discoverable online and help the authors and publishers sell more of them. Some of our critics believe that somehow Google Book Search will become a substitute for the printed word.

The books come from Google’s exclusive Partner Program or their ambitious Google Books Library Project, a project that includes library collections from various library sources around the world.

What can I do once you’ve found a book you like?

* Browse: Click the forward-facing arrow to browse available pages. If you’re in one-page mode, simply scroll down to see all available pages. You can also choose to view the book in full-screen mode (filling your browser window).

* Search within the book: Click on additional search results to see other pages containing your original search term, or try a new search within the book.

* Buy the book: Click on one of the links to online booksellers to go to directly to a page where you can buy the book.

* Find it in a library: Many books have Library Links. Look for the “Find this book in a library” link to find a local library that has a copy. Learn more.

* Learn about the publisher: Click the publisher’s logo to go to the publisher’s website and find more books from that publisher.

Site [Google Books]