The threat of litigation is taken seriously

The National Library of France, public institution responsible for providing and to collect legal deposit by François 1eren 1537, dévoierait its missions, can come to terms with the Internet giant, Google, born in the 21st century and listed in Debate rages in the cultural backgrounds of the Hexagon, passion because it is question of French heritage, and Google, one of the symbols of American hegemony. But back to the fundamentals. Passing a contract with the California-based search engine, the BNF dévoierait its tasks are to collect, preserve, organize and make available to the public national heritage, digital dimension had become essential in all these fields of action

In concrete terms, what is talking about In the ongoing discussions, Google offers free scanning part of the collections of the BNF, free of rights, and therefore accessible to all people. In return, the Mountain View firm wishes to be able operate freely, and exclusively for a period to define the digitized files, understanding that the BNF would retain a digital copy of the works to make them available on the Internet via its own site Gallica. In this paperless universe, the public establishment would remain guarantor of the conservation and maintenance of the Fund, as it is in the world of print.

If it moves the strict point of view of the BNF, Google would be a provider of service which would be entrusted with the digitization of free books of law, and allowing him to online faster and more heavily his collections. On this occasion, the California group, which has already scanned 7 million works, is also ready to provide the files of the works in the public domain that was already scanned in 29 libraries American and European with which it is associated with.

The first concerned with the mission of dissemination vested in the BNF, "user-reader", wherever it is in the world, would, therefore, the big winner of this market. It would be a major step in the democratization of access to the collections. Currently, the use of the library of the BNF research reached just 1,500 people a day. And only 130,000 or-materials have been digitized, half of them in text mode. It is this calculation which led the library of Lyon, the second French library, to conclude an agreement with Google in 2008.

Course, for the public authorities, a contract between the BNF and the American giant is possible only if the kingly missions of the institution are preserved or developed. Scanning - which is the only component that has Google - is part of this schema. Thus, in a report early this year, General Inspection of finance already advocated an acceleration in negotiations with the California firm, pointing the inability of the institution to mass digitisation.

For the State as to the BNF, the interest in this market would first financial. Gallica has a budget of EUR 8 million per year, of which less than half is devoted to scanning. But it would take between ten and twenty times more. Another advantage, culturally this time, at the time where libraries work in network, the BNF would be connected to the great flood of the canvas.

For public authorities, the major issue - as in any public-private partnership - is to define under what conditions the contract can be passed. Counterparties required by Google - including the duration of the exclusivity which is given - will be an essential point. Get involved, they must ensure that all legal risks have been lifted. The threat of litigation is taken seriously. Because the other search engines, such as Yahoo!, excluded from access to whole sections of Gallica for the duration of the exclusivity granted to Google could be tempted to bring the case to justice, on the basis of a constitution of a dominant position.

Remain French publishers, fierce opponents to this contract. For large houses that are on trial with Google, see the BNF helping it become the first global bibliographic database would be almost of treason. In a commercial logic, they see a threat to run on their margins, if the American company launches in dematerialised book. For its part, the BNF cannot cut the French Edition, which it depends to offer, one day, on Gallica, works of the 20th century, protected by copyright law. When deciding whether or not it authorizes agreement with Google, the public power cannot ignore this aspect of the question. It is not sure, however, that it actually weighs on his choice.