Google Book Search Offers Free, Dowloadable Books

Google Book Search is now offering the ability to download PDF versions of out-of-copyright and public domain books.

This is done in association with a range of partner organisations such as the New York Public Library, Oxford University, Harvard University, Stanford university, the University of Michegan and the University of California.

As a result of the Google Books Library Project, the aim of which is to make it easier for people to find relevant books, Google Book Search allows you to search the full text of books. If if finds a book whose content contains a match for your search terms, it'll link to it in your search results. Click on a book title and you'll see, like a card catalog entry, some basic information about the book. You may also see a few snippets of text from the book showing your search term in context. If the publisher or author has given Google permission, then you'll see a few full pages from the book and if the book is out of copyright, you'll be able to page through the entire book and download it in PDF format. Of course, always open to opportunity, you'll also see links that lead directly to online bookstores where you can buy the book.

Obviously, the range of free titles on offer isn't going to include any current bestsellers but it does contain a huge number of classics and older volumes and as Google finds more willing partners, the numbers should increase. You can read the full text (sorry) on the official Google Blog.