Broadening access to information

Google Books (available at http://books.google.com/books) has generated quite a bit of controversy. There are some legitimate issues here. But, on the other hand, the positive potential of easy access to hundreds of thousands of books in the public domain, many of them genuine classics, is staggering. Which makes the Library of Congresses' Mass digitization project (http://www.america.gov/st/educ-english/2009/December/20091223172644xlrennef0.264187.html) so interesting and exciting. 60,000 books, going back 300 years is nothing to sneeze at. This is a collection that is all in the public domain, much of it of genuine historical value, either because of the content or because of the light it sheds on the era, is nothing to sneeze at.

This, in my opinion, is the kind of thing that must make dictators very, very nervous. The truth is that even stuff like a current offer by the National Geographic of every single issue published - for the grand total of $70 (http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/magazines/national-geographic-magazine/the-complete-national-geographic-on-6-dvd-roms) is amazing. While it's not free it's pretty amazing for two reasons. Firstly, you are looking at about nine (9) large boxes worth of magazines in a small case smaller than the typical binder with pockets carried by school kids. Secondly, it's inexpensive enough that it can easily be distributed. If a philanthropist wants to get a huge amount information to a lot of kids (or adults) something like this is a great idea. And the advantage is that it doesn't need a high speed internet connection, which can be a problem in some areas. Of course, the National Geographic is not the only such item (The WorldBook Encyclopedia, for instance, has similar offers, but I can't link it just now, because there seems to be a problem with their site.) Thebig advantage, in my opinion, to something like the National Geographic is that it brings not just current value, but a look at decades of research and can provide a huge amount of information on how society has changed, and not just the societies profiled by the magazine.

The bottom line, to me, though, is that technology has made it possible to give everyone access to huge amounts of information at low cost, or even for free. And it takes away the excuses to limit access. It's no longer "impractical" to give the public access to rare documents. And it's no longer "expensive" to give kids access to huge libraries of books, rather than the limited textbooks in use in so many schools.