OpenLibrary is a really cool site that has just been launched in collaboration with Boston Public Library, Internet Archive and OpenLibrary.org.
Basically it is allows you to search for a public domain book on OpenLibrary.org and, if the book hasn’t been scanned yet and is available at the Boston Public Library, the system gives you an option to request the book to be scanned. Once you confirm your request someone from Boston Library will scan the book and within 3-5 days you will receive an email follow-up with a link to the newly-digitized copy, complete with PDF, online flip book, full text and more.
I personally think that this is a great idea and allows knowledge to be shared across the world and not limited to people who can physically access the Boston Library. Its too much right now to expect non-public domain books to be available in the service but I think a sort of pay per download scheme or something similar would be a great addition to the service in the near future.
Check it out over here: Open Library
Thanks to ‘Jimmy O’Regan’ for the heads up.
– Suramya