Google Book Search -- What's the beef?

After years of resistance, the French Library Association "Bibliotheque National de France" (BNF) has agreed to let Google digitize their books.

This is rather funny, since when Google first announced its project, French officials complained that it only included American and British libraries, and felt their great culture was being left out. Then they opposed it, and now reluctantly went along with it.

Why? Google is paying them. The French had tried to set up their own digital library, but needs 80 million Euros just to digitize the works from 1870 to 1940. The French government is only willing to invest 5 million Euros a year.

http://www.searchcowboys.com/google/911