Google’s Copyright Paranoia blocks non-US-citizen from viewing the full text of books which are PUBLIC DOMAIN world wide. There is no change in the policy I have criticized at
http://archiv.twoday.net/stories/1073534
Now UMich is blocking in the same way US-citizen from viewing books which are PD in the US. See the example at
http://log.netbib.de/archives/2006/09/01/mbooks-online
Update: I have checked with an US-Proxy: UMich has the same IP rights management like Google. Us citizen can see the full text of Geibel at
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015018428865
End of Update
Geibel died in 1873 (see the UMich catalog entry!) and thus his works are PD in the EU (and worldwide, including Mexico).
The Chroniken der deutschen Städte are at UMich in the same way not free as in the Google. There can be found hundreds of PD books which UMich sees falsely as copyrighted.
That Google is doing a very poor scanning job (no book without errors) is well known for all digitization experts.
Its Fraktur OCR is worthless, see
http://log.netbib.de/archives/2006/09/01/bs-e-stinben-men-s-ft-nictt-su
The decision of the UMich Regents NOT to show library patrons the digitized books which UMich believes copyrighted makes the whole effort for Fraktur books actually worthless.
If a German Fraktur book from say 1925 (author died 1945) is scanned it is PD in the EU 2015. We have to wait until that date before there is any profit from the scanning. “Search only” does’nt make sense if there is no searchable OCR text. Let’s have a look on an US edition of Wilhelm Hauff (shown as PD at UMich):
Zcnn menu bit (Iisuen Tieben unub @on (Iistem
geliebl felt tell!, boss bofet et’ sienanbgtasgip
(Slusben, unb en if is Rep.
(Sic (mielten jept gmot)cn Slnicgs’nolf. Die Rod)
cutlet, Sic Sen @Jtiilseifcr eon (tines Sbcssmrahcs
(Schalberoff oat’ l@neihinpen em(maties ash baum gu.
sun ben (sinufis milpetfeilt baUd, fimrnten oaf cit
@oom mit hem bemein, tat’ l@niulcims (Sorbcs
if rem ttfct ge(fmiebems (matte. Utber ben @lbat
beftosh mom olfo sift ben geningflc 3uunti(tl surf r.
Itben tie Sent (,t)ra(es beitusmen?
Can you detect any string worth for searching in this text?
There are thousands of Fraktur books which are OCR’d in this useless way by Google.
Let’s be fair to Google. Its a commercial enterprise no welfare institution. But there is no excusation for the ignorant and incompetent UMich librarians who are blocking PD books and ignoring the serious Fraktur problem.