Chris Gallienne wrote:Do we not have copyright issues with those books - many are quite recent?
I am working from the presumption that we own no copyrights.
First we have to prioritise which books to digitise.
Secondly we need to trace the owners of the copyright, author or publisher, and seek their permission, where possible.
Thirdly we need to decide the degree of text search ability we need or desire.
With books that are long out of print, authors that are long deceased, and publishers that are out of business, then we can proceed with caution, I am advised. What we cannot, and should not do, is to try and sell the digitised versions. We can let our members have access to the digitised versions strictly for their own use and information.
Finally with current authors and publishers, we must make contact and seek their permission.
What we need to decide is the degree of text searchability we should be aiming for, and which are the most important books to tackle first.