France joins the race to digitize books

In the midst of the flat and wide in central France, a team of secretaries and computer orders the European literary heritage for the digital age.

Simply put, they live to turn the pages.

The company they work for, Safig, is one of the few European companies that are scanning books, using automatic page turners and human.

That places them in the center of France's plan for a huge virtual library, and their attempts to negotiate a digital book with U.S. Internet giant, Google.

"We are going through a politically sensitive period," said project leader Christophe Danna.

"Whatever the outcome, will determine the future of the literary market," he said, standing against a background of quiet scanners and robotic arms that turn over pages.

French fans plan of 1.000 million for libraries and museums digitize their view it as a union of cultural pride and industry strategy. Bruno Racine, director of the National Library of France, is also a strategic advisor to the NATO military alliance.

Skeptics point out that the 10 million books digitized by Google French make any effort seem small, like the three-year contract Safig to scan 300,000 books for the National Library.

One possible outcome is a mutual agreement with Google to accelerate the mass digitization.

"This is a bit like a factory. We do not produce cars, but there is a strong parallel," said Danna.

Safig charged per page, regardless of whether you are scanning a classic romanticon or "Belgian Code on Professional Unions", a yellowish volume waiting to be scanned here.

Some analysts see a second parallel: As in the automotive industry, France has been accused of protectionism and belligerence toward foreign firms while redefining its editorial market of 4,000 million euros.

"Faustian pact"
President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged that France will not allow you "remove" its literary treasures. Intellectuals have criticized a library, in Lyon, by signing a "Faustian bargain" to digitize books by Google.

Many French people feel that the works of Moliere and Baudelaire's poems are a national treasure more important than the automotive industry, and that the State is right to give them special attention.

Robert Darnton, director of the Library of Harvard University, he even wants the U.S. can take to France as a model.

"The technology exists and perhaps the money really there to recreate the Republic of Letters" he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Paris.

"The state should support the cost of digitization of what they call the 'heritage', our stake that belongs to the whole nation," he said.

France has said it is ready to talk with Google on a joint agreement, but wants to receive more generous benefits that other partners, for example, through a free exchange of books.

This position is a change of attitude after the departure of Jean-Noel Jeanneney as director of the National Library of France in 2007. Jeanneney was a fierce critic of Google and even wrote a book attacking the literary project of the company as a threat to non-Anglophone culture.

Under the agreement, the National Library could allow Google to use the digitized books and have free access in exchange for much larger collection of search giant.

"We welcome the spirit of the proposal," said Simon Morrison, a spokesman for Google. "We are pleased about," he said.

The issue has gained urgency because of the interest in digitizing that exploded last year.

While electronic readers gain popularity, the books look set to become the next sector captured by the online revolution, following the music and film.

The technology research company Forrester estimates that sales of electronic books in the United States reached 3 million units in 2009, and expects that figure to double to more than 6 million in 2010.

Some fear it could end with the printed word and all its charms, while others relish the idea of discovering gems sold on their screens, to delve into the "Magna Carta" of Britain or the first editions of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.

"One touch this book"
In a not minor, the online literary bid was helped by Google Books, displaying snippets of books under copyright and full texts of works free of duty.

"It is thanks to Google we exist," he told Reuters Jill Cousins, Executive Director of Europeana polyglot culture site (www.europeana.eu). "They gave great service to Europe to make politicians aware of the shortage of European culture online," he said.

Europeana, funded by the European Commission will want to partner with retailers virtual so that readers can easily pay for works under copyright.

In the laboratory Safig rural scanning, the hope is that any agreement between the public and private sector creates jobs for smaller firms.