News analysis - Librarians demand digitisation answers. Concerns grow over lack of details about Google's well-publicised library digitisation programme. Mark Chillingworth investigates.

Senior librarians are calling for greater clarity from Google about its library digitisation programme. IWR has found grave concerns about what titles will be digitised, protection of the digital files for future generations, and the user functionality available.

In December 2004, Google announced a major digitisation programme in conjunction with the university libraries of Michigan, Stanford, Harvard and Oxford (though just the Bodleian), and the New York Public Library. According to the Oxford University Library website, Google will begin scanning in mid-2005, and the first digital pages will be available within three weeks of digitisation.

But as the project nears the starting gates, senior information professionals are voicing concerns. "On the one hand it is very exciting, getting books off shelves and more accessible, but there is ambiguity about how it will work," said Robert Kiley, head of systems strategy at the medical research funding charity, Wellcome Trust.

Diana Leitch, deputy university librarian at the University of Manchester, agreed: "The truth is we don't know enough about what is proposed." Kiley wants to see the collection development policy, and wants Google to reveal what is going to be digitised, and how Google Print will direct users to original texts.

Information professionals are calling for clarity because of concerns about how the project will affect their collections plans, and the future of information access. "Google has shaken up the market," said Kiley. "Digitised collections such as (Gale's) ECCO and (ProQuest's) EEBO are available for libraries to subscribe to, but Google is a product that is freely available at the point of access."

Clive Field, scholarship and collections director at the British Library, is concerned about the technology platform, business model and long-term sustainability of the project. He notes: "Digitisation doesn't mean it will get used."

Since listing on the stock market, Google is now answerable to its shareholders, and information professionals are worried that if the digitisation is too costly, or doesn't produce the user results Google desires, it will be scaled down or confined to the dustbin. "We don't want to have to go through this again in 10 years' time," said Kiley.